A nearly four-foot ball python was captured in West O‘ahu Saturday.
According to the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, or DAB, Honolulu Police responded to a snake-sighting report in the area of Camp Wai‘anae on Oct. 17 and called the Hawaiian Humane Society, which in turn called DAB.
Biosecurity officers were dispatched and took possession of the 45-inch snake near 85-1508 Haleahi Road, the department said Tuesday. DAB's Plant Quarantine Branch has custody of the non-venomous snake; testing is underway to determine its sex.
"We believe the snake was a pet because of its nature," DABS spokesperson Jai Cunningham told Aloha State Daily in an email, noting that the animal, which was found alive and trapped, "seems OK with being handled."
Cunningham says officers secured the snake, which was then taken to the plant quarantine facility on Sand Island.
Snakes have no natural predators in the Islands and pose a threat to Hawai‘i's environment "because they compete with native animal populations for food and habitat," the department says. Species like the ball python also prey on birds and bird eggs which can threaten endangered native bird species, while large snakes can pose a threat to humans, pets and other domestic animals, the announcement noted.
DAB says that ball pythons may grow up to six feet long and are common in the pet trade on the Mainland.
According to DAB, snakes are illegal in the state. Anyone found with illegal animals are subject to penalties that include fines of up to $200,000 and up to three years in prison.
Have information on illegal animals? Call the state's toll-free pest hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378) or turn them in under the state's amnesty program.
A live three-and-a-half food non-venomous ball python was captured in Kaimukī in June 2025. Shortly thereafter, ag officials spoke with ASD about what happens when illegal animals and invasive stowaways are found in Hawai‘i. Read that story here.
In regards to the recently found snake, Cunningham offered a comment from DAB Land Vertebrate Specialist Jessica Ann Miura who said that the snake will likely be relocated to a zoo on the Mainland, a research university, or society or organization that exhibits snakes; zoos in Hawai‘i are only allowed to have two non-venomous snakes and they must be males.
However, as ASD previously reported, when mammals that can potentially carry rabies, like skunks and opossums, are caught, they are euthanized to be tested for disease. According to the state Department of Health, Hawai‘i is the only state in the U.S. free of rabies.
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
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