{"id":579163,"date":"2026-08-09T03:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T03:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/579163\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T03:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T03:56:10","slug":"8-foot-python-found-living-under-familys-shed-and-x-rays-discovered-what-it-ate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/579163\/","title":{"rendered":"8-foot python found living under family\u2019s shed \u2014 and X-rays discovered what it ate"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jeepers creepers!<\/p>\n

A New Jersey<\/a> couple got a terrifying backyard surprise when they discovered an 8-foot Burmese python<\/a> slithered beneath their shed \u2014 and its latest meal made the massive snake<\/a> even harder to remove.<\/p>\n

Leslie Daley was watering flowers<\/a> at the family\u2019s Freehold home when she spotted the enormous snake moving through the backyard, her husband, Ed, told ABC 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Daleys then spotted a hole in the corner of the shed, where they believe the python crawled inside. They called the Monmouth County SPCA, setting off an unusual rescue operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the homeowner sent us a video of what we were actually dealing with, and when we all saw it, our jaws kind of dropped a little because that is a Burmese python, which definitely does not belong out in the wild in New Jersey,\u201d Scott Crawford, an Animal Control Manager with the Monmouth County SPCA, told the news outlet. <\/p>\n

\"AA New Jersey couple found an 8-foot, 40-pound Burmese python under their shed, and its full belly made the massive snake even harder to remove (Monmouth County SPCA)\"AA contractor had to come remove the shed’s floorboards for rescuers to safely remove the animal (Monmouth County SPCA)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not illegal to own a Burmese python in New Jersey, but the animals<\/a> do require a permit. Officials suspect the snake may have been released by someone who didn\u2019t have one, or by an owner who simply couldn\u2019t handle the snake after it grew too large.<\/p>\n

Animal control officers arrived expecting to pull the snake back through the opening it used to crawl under the shed.<\/p>\n

But there was a problem: the python recently ate a substantial meal, leaving it with a large and full belly. <\/p>\n

With the python\u2019s bulging abdomen blocking the way, rescuers couldn\u2019t simply pull it out without risking injury.<\/p>\n

The Daleys called in a contractor friend, who tore up the shed floor to give rescuers access from above.<\/p>\n

But even with the floorboards gone, the python\u2019s latest feast was still standing in the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we had to dig around him a little bit to free him up,\u201d Crawford said. \u201cStill couldn’t tell exactly where his head was.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"X-raysX-rays revealed that the snake recently ate an opossum for dinner (Monmouth County SPCA)<\/p>\n

Eventually, the team managed to get the massive reptile out from beneath the shed. The Monmouth County SPCA\u2019s medical staff performed X-rays on the snake to determine what was inside its stomach and make sure its recent meal had not caused any complications.<\/p>\n

The images revealed the answer: an opossum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for the family, the python did not eat someone\u2019s pet, which Crawford said could\u2019ve been a real possibility for a snake that size. <\/p>\n

The snake will eventually be placed in a zoo or transferred to a private owner with the proper expertise and permits to care for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a big snake person myself,\u201d Ed Daley told ABC 7. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[85,46,141,386],"class_list":["post-579163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}