--- title: "Boa Constrictor Hitches a Ride in a Pickup Truck’s Engine Bay" description: "Dispatchers couldn't believe the call when an Arizona man dialed a non-emergency line to report a snake in his pickup. The fire department came to the rescue." date: "2024-11-14" modified: "2024-11-14" authors: - name: "Ronan Glon" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/ronan-glon" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/arizona-man-finds-boa-constrictor-chilling-in-his-silverados-engine-bay" categories: - "News" tags: - "Chevrolet" - "pickup" - "Silverado HD" --- # Boa Constrictor Hitches a Ride in a Pickup Truck’s Engine Bay ![Images from the Scottsdale Fire Department rescuing a boa constrictor from an engine bay.]() *\Scottsdale Fire Department via Facebook\* The [serpentine belt]() found in most modern engines gets its name from its snake-like shape. Firefighters in Scottsdale, Arizona, had the unexpected opportunity to compare this crucial piece of rubber with the limbless reptile it's named after when they received a call from a man who found a boa constrictor—a huge, non-venomous snake—hitching a ride in the underbody of [his Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD](). Posting [on Facebook](), the Scottsdale Fire Department explained that the truck's owner noticed a snake's head poking out from the underbody after driving from Mesa to Scottsdale, which is a roughly 10-mile trip. Finding a rodent under a car or in an engine bay [isn't unusual](), especially as the temperatures drop; critters see your daily driver as a relatively warm and safe place to find shelter. But spotting a *boa constrictor* in a pickup after a short trip through Arizona is far more unusual: the big snake's natural habitat [stretches from]() northern Mexico to Argentina. "I thought it was a grocery bag or some sort of plastic. Maybe I ran over something. So, I walked back over to the truck to see what it was, and was totally shocked to see this big ol' snake looking down and looking right back at me," Aaron Ricks, the Silverado's owner, told [*Fox 10*](). The crew that responded to the call was initially skeptical as well. "They said they didn't believe there would be a snake in the truck," Ricks added. ![]() ![]() ![Boa constrictor removed from Chevy Silverado HD]() *Scottsdale Fire Department* It sounds like the snake is a pet that slithered away from its home, which hopefully made the task of removing it easier than if firefighters were dealing with a wild one that had never been in contact with a human. Working with thick gloves and an animal-control grasper, the firefighters removed the Silverado's front skid plate to extract the massive snake and, after posing for pictures, put it in a box. The hitchhiking boa was unharmed and taken to the Arizona Herpetological Society for care. If you live in the Mesa area and you're missing a boa, you know who to call. How the boa ended up tucked behind the Silverado's skid plate remains a mystery. Similarly, there's no word on whether it damaged anything under the hood. Boa constrictors kill their prey by wrapping their body around it and squeezing, which explains the "constrictor" part of the name. The bigger ones are capable of killing large animals, such as wild pigs, so we imagine one could easily crack, say, a radiator, if it felt the need to. *Got tips? Send ’em to [tips@thedrive.com]()* ## Author Ronan is a contributing writer for The Drive. He draws on over 15 years of experience to cover breaking industry news, cool one-off builds, and anything in between. He began writing for The Drive in 2021 and stepped into his current role in 2024. His obsession with cars started when a relative gave him a Majorette die-cast shortly after his first birthday. It hasn't flickered since. Ronan lives in France; He swapped Utah's Rocky Mountains, where he grew up, for the Alps. He's an avid hiker, mountain biker, and musician. He also restores classic European cars and mopeds, including a 1978 Citroen 2CV that he's rebuilding from the ground up. ### Author social links [Twitter]()