5-Foot Long Boa Constrictor Removed from Deck of Stillwater Home

Paul and Camille Kiolbasa woke up on Wednesday morning to a 5-foot boa constrictor lounging on the deck of their home on River Heights Drive in Stillwater.

Paul Kiolbasa said he stepped out onto his deck at about 5:15 a.m. Wednesday. It was still dark out, so he thought he saw a wet towel, robe or a stick. When Kiolbasa bent down to touch it, he knew it was none of the above.

"I touched it, but I couldn't figure out what it was," Kiolbasa said. "I went to turn on the light, looked outside and was just shocked. I said, 'Holy cow, look at that.'"

Kiolbasa went inside to tell his wife Camille and two children Eddy and Annie what he found.

They couldn't believe it, Kiolbasa said.

"I said believe me or not, there is a very large snake on the deck."

The snake never seemed threatened or scared, Kiolbasa said. It was very mild-mannered.

Kiolbasa said the snake wasn't really going anywhere, and he wanted his kids to see it, so he waited for about two hours to call police.

"The kids were just floored," Kiolbasa said. "My daughter, Annie, thought it was beautiful, and my son, Eddie, wanted to keep it."

Kiolbasa said he has no idea where the snake came from.

When Stillwater Police Officer Ryan Mitchell said arrived, he said the snake had coiled up around the railing and lattice of the deck.

Click here to see more photos of the snake.

Police contacted the DNR, who sent Sarah Richard of the Minnesota Herpetological Society to the scene. Richard was able to put the boa constrictor in a cotton bag and took it away.

“It’s likely someone didn’t want the snake and let it loose,” Mitchell said.

The Minnesota Herpetological Society will hang on to the snake to see if the owner claims it until Sept. 6, Mitchell said. After that they put it up for adoption.

"It was quite the experience," Kiolbasa said. "Unbelievable."