A ball python wrapped in a the engine area of a van in the south east hill area of Medicine Hat on the weekend. Submitted Photo

By Jesse Gill

IN THE COMMUNITY

Exotic snake rescued after getting into the van of a Medicine Hat man

Oct 9, 2024 | 6:42 PM

A Medicine Hat man who lives on the South East Hill was trying to shoo away a snake from his yard on the weekend, when it ended up slithering up the wheel of his van.

Once it got under the hood over the vehicle, it was a process to get it out.

Jeff Quinlan was hoping to get a round of golf in on a weekend afternoon, but instead ended up with a snake wrapped around the engine of his van.

“It was in the engine pretty tight and I knew there was no, I wasn’t going to try to pull it out,” Quinlan said.

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“It ended up that it spent the night in the van. Despite our best efforts, Carl pulled the wheels off and pulled some components out of the engine and it was wedged in there pretty good,” he added.

“I think it was pretty scared.”

Attempts were made to get the snake out of the vehicle. Photo Submitted

Any fear of the snake quickly turned to concern, which is why Quinlan had contacted Carl Lee from Enterprise Motors Ltd. receiving a phone call to rescue a snake.

“They needed to jack up the vehicle and get in there, because the snake was kind of buried inside the engine,” Lee said.

“They figured the only way is to get the vehicle up somehow and start taking stuff apart. So that’s when I responded.”

Lee didn’t expect to ever end up on a call like this with his mobile mechanic service.

“Absolutely not,” Lee said with a laugh.

“I thought it was just a bull snake at first, and I hate snakes. But here, it was an exotic snake. It was an African bull python, of all things, in the middle of Medicine Hat.”

Sheri Monk, owner of Snakes on a Plain, had already received a text with a picture of the snake from a friend who had seen it in earlier Kin Coulee park.

When she heard from Quinlan, she knew this must be the same snake, so she rushed to attend and help with another friend of hers.

The snake eventually showed it’s head. Photo Submitted

Monk said the snake was frightened and cold, and being a very muscular snake balled up even tighter with any attempts to get it out, but they eventually got a hold of the body of the snake when the tail popped out.

“That had been the trick where I was not able to get sort of two hands on it,” Monk said.

“Then its face was accessible, so we were able to sort of scare it backwards by waving my snake hook in front of its face. We just kind of like pulled it out bit at a time without injuring it,” she added.

“It was good, it had been multiple visits, from evening and then early in the morning and then mid-morning and then finally over lunch we were able to get it out.”

No damage to the van, no charge for the mobile mechanic, and the snake who had likely been abandoned in Kin Coulee Park has found a new home.

Adopted by a schoolteacher at Cape School and named Penelope.

Monk said Penelope is a little malnourished, but otherwise doing good.

Quinlan is happy for all the help.

“The city has a lot of good people in it. I don’t know what I would have done. The van was useless. I don’t know what I would have done without their help,” Quinlan said.

“So thank you very much to them.”