Worker who saved snake found in box of bananas had hoped to keep reptile
Miller had been working in the bakery that night
By Arielle Mitropoulos
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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (WMUR) — A Manchester Market Basket worker said he wasn’t frightened when a snake was found in a box of bananas at the supermarket – he was excited.
“I thought it was so cool to find this hitchhiker from South America,” Miller said. “I was ecstatic, because I love reptiles.”
Miller had been working in the bakery that night, when his friends in the produce department told him they had discovered the snake inside a box of bananas.
“My friends in the produce department were definitely startled by it,” Miller said, adding that his colleagues had thrown the snake out into the loading area for it to die.
However, Miller said that he wanted to save it. He then took a pair of tongs and went to find the snake outside.
“I picked it up, and we put it in a container that we use for the sliced watermelon, the cubes of watermelon, and punched in some air holes,” he said.
Miller took the snake home, warmed it up and tried to figure out where it was from.
“I was trying to figure out if I was able to keep this animal,” he said. “I started to talk to more people, and a lot of people were in Massachusetts, and I know that the laws in Mass. are different than in New Hampshire.”
When he realized the snake might be venomous, he called the Fish and Game Department, which said he could not keep it.
“Should I have taken that chance when handling the snake? No, that’s probably irresponsible of me,” Miller said. “I only did it because it was almost dead.”
Officials said that the snake is an ornate cat-eyed snake. The species, native to Ecuador, is unlikely to bite people, but if it did, the pain would be intense. The snake is now under the care of Rainforest Reptile in Massachusetts.
Miller said he was disappointed that he had to give up the snake, but he hopes that in the unlikely chance this happens again, his story will inspire people to give another little animal a chance.
“A lot of people’s first reaction would have been to do what my coworkers did, and that’s to end the snake’s life,” Miller said.
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