Boa constrictor gives her owner the slip (From The Oxford Times)

Boa constrictor gives her owner the slip

9:30am Saturday 8th September 2012 in News

A SANFORD-on-Thames resident has asked for help finding his missing 8.5-foot boa constrictor.

The four-year-old, sandy-brown snake, right, named Beau, went missing on Tuesday from Rob Davies’ ground floor flat in Church Road.

Mr Davies, 26, said: “I put her back in the tank and pulled the bolt across but did not turn the key. I have been ill and was not with it. It is the first lapse in concentration in the last three years I have owned snakes. Beau is absolutely the most delightful snake and she is very, very friendly under normal circumstances.

“She has been handled since birth and I have never had a problem with her, but ultimately she is a wild animal. I don’t want there to be a public frenzy. I just want her back in one piece.”

Mr Davies, who contacted the RSPCA and police as soon as he discovered Beau was missing, advised people not to approach her.

Andrea Slaymaker, of Evolution Reptiles and Pets in Headington, said: “Boas do not travel far and it is most likely she will be close by.”

If you spot Beau call police on 101.