It could be assumed many would run – quickly − in the other direction if told a 10- to 15-foot snake was at a residential home.
But Indian River County Sheriff’s Cpl. Trevor Kramer said the Jan. 25 morning call to dispatchers piqued his interest.
A woman in the 800 block of Fourth Lane called 911 after she went outside and the massive snake, which turned out to be a red-tailed boa constrictor, startled her, according to sheriff’s Lt. Kevin Jaworski.
Indian River County Sheriff’s Cpl. Trevor Kramer came to the rescue of a woman who called 911 about a big snake in her yard on Fourth Lane Jan. 25, 2026. He snagged this 9-foot red-tailed boa constrictor.
Kramer said he and his wife have had snakes in the past. He grew up in the woods and wildlife always intrigued him.
“I assumed it was an exaggeration,” Kramer said of the 10- to 15-foot size estimate. “I get there, she’s still panic-stricken, she’s like, ‘It’s huge.’”
Kramer said the woman indicated her husband was standing watch by the creature on the side of her home.
In all, it turned out to be 9 feet.
“I go around the corner and this thing is laid out straight along this extension ladder, and it was much longer than the extension ladder,” Kramer recalled. “I was like, holy cow, this snake is huge.”
Red-tailed boa constrictors are native to South and Central America and have a distinctive reddish tail and a strong constricting ability.
Boa constrictors are not to be confused with pythons, which also are large and muscular. Pythons tend to be longer than boa constrictors, which are usually about 10 feet.
Kramer, who said he’s been with the Sheriff’s Office nearly two years, said he had nothing big enough to hold the snake.
He asked the woman whether she had a pillowcase to put it in, and she brought him one. He has a homemade catch pole he uses to catch wildlife.
“I snared him with it, and grabbed him, and he had to weigh, 35, 40 pounds,” Kramer said. “He was a hefty snake.”
Kramer said animal control officials arrived, before the snake was taken to the humane society.
That type of snake, he said, is a fairly common pet kept by snake enthusiasts.
Indian River County Animal Control Officer Faith Bohannon said when she arrived the snake was in a pillowcase.
“We kind of took it out just so that we could see that it was in good health and what kind of snake it was,” Bohannon said.
Indian River County Sheriff’s Cpl. Trevor Kramer came to the rescue of a woman who called 911 about a big snake in her yard on Fourth Lane Jan. 25, 2026. He snagged this 9-foot red-tailed boa constrictor.
She said she made some calls because it’s not something the shelter has facilities for.
“We had to kind of scrounge around and go through all of their available tanks … to find one that was big enough for the snake,” she said.
A message left Jan. 26 with the Humane Society of Vero Beach & Indian River County was not immediately returned. That’s where Bohannon said the snake was taken.
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Bohannon said she’s been at her job for about 18 months and had not encountered such a large snake before.
“Typically, the snakes that I get are just tiny snakes that are stuck under people’s fridges,” she said.
Kramer suspected this may be a pet that got loose or was let go.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Massive snake snared by deputy in Florida