Girl finds boa constrictor snake skin in Oxford

The skin of a boa constrictor has been discovered by a seven-year-old girl in Oxford.

Amelia Drewett found the 5ft (1.5m) length of shed skin while walking with her grandfather in Headington.

Her grandmother made an appeal on Facebook, but the whereabouts of the snake it came from remains a mystery.

Boa constrictors are not venomous but have been known to kill animals by squeezing them to death.

The section of skin is now hanging up in Amelia's grandparents' house in Headington, about 100m from where it was discovered near a busy road last Friday.

Debra Drewett, 65, said she "couldn't believe my eyes when they brought it home".

"It goes from almost floor to ceiling. They thought it was just plastic in the brambles under the bridge, but they took a closer look and it was this huge snakeskin," she added.

"I was really worried and had the image of a huge snake slithering around someone's garden."

Mrs Drewett spoke to Evolution Reptiles in nearby Kidlington, who said the skin was that of a boa constrictor.

Nicole Head, from Evolution Reptiles, said she believed the skin had come from a snake that had been dumped deliberately.

"It's not the first time we've heard or seen this happen, but we're keeping our eye out to see if anyone's lost it," she said.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA spokesperson said Boa constrictors are "popular pets but can also be talented escape artists so we are often called out to collect snakes who have been found straying".

They urged anyone who comes across the snake to "not be alarmed" but to contact the charity.

A licence is not needed to keep a boa constrictor as they are not venomous.

Snakes shed their skin in a complete piece and do it more frequently when they are young.