Snake on a plain: Teen boy finds ball python near Spijkenisse hockey fields

Last week, a teenager found a ball python between the hockey fields of the Hockey Association Spijkenisse. The reptile center in Zwanenburg took in the massive snake and is trying to find the owner, the local animal ambulance told Rijnmond.

It is still a mystery how the snake ended up at the hockey fields in the Baarsveen neighborhood of Spijkenisse. Its owner has also not yet been identified.

Ball pythons can grow up to 2 meters long and are not poisonous. According to the National Information Center for Companion Animals, they’re typically “fairly calm and friendly,” easy to handle, and “not very aggressive.”

Netherlands residents don’t need a permit to keep or sell a ball python, though the owner must have a declaration of origin.