Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A local snake expert hopes whoever spray-painted a 4-foot rattlesnake pink will be caught.
Jim Dix, owner of Reptile Rescue, said he received a call on June 10 from someone reporting construction workers near the University of Utah had sprayed a snake, nearly killing it.
“The whole thing was an act of stupidity,” Dix said. “There’s no excuse for it.”
Dix said the snake had paint sprayed over its eyes, all the way down to the end of its tail. He and other reptile experts can’t use chemicals to remove the paint, so they are soaking the snake in warm water, twice a day, to try and get it clean. Some of the paint has flaked off, but it hasn’t come off its eyes, he said.
Dix thinks construction workers used a marker paint stick to spray the snake. The sticks are about 3 foot long, he said. Had they used a regular spray can, they likely would have been bit.
The snake was being held at Reptile Rescue Tuesday. Dix said it should shed its skin in the next three to four weeks, and that includes the eye caps. It is expected to make a full recovery, he said.
This is an ambush predator, so now he can't camouflage to get his food.
–Jim Dix, Reptile Rescue
The snake will eventually be returned to the wild near Red Butte Garden. Until then, the paint is causing several concerns.
“This is an ambush predator, so now he can’t camouflage to get his food,” Dix said.
With the paint over its eyes, the snake can’t see, either. “He would be striking at more things than he ordinarily would,” the reptile expert said.
And because the pink paint makes him stand out, Dix said the snake could easily be spotted and eaten by birds of prey or other predators.
But the biggest concern Dix sees from this incident is the human factor.
“It would draw more attention from people who would see him, which would also cause us to have a person getting bit,” he said.
Treating a snake bite costs $90,000. “So that’s like six vials of antivenom and three days in the hospital, and that’s if you’re bit in muscle or fatty tissue,” Dix said.
If bit between fingers or the face, it could be a very serious injury. Face shots are usually fatal, he said.
Someone painted a snake pink near the University of Utah. The snake was painted from head to tail, including in its eyes. (Alexis Bronson/Reptile Rescue)
In Utah, it’s against the law to capture, remove, harass or kill snakes — a class B misdemeanor — and Dix hopes those who did this are caught.
“It’s bad enough they painted it," he said, "but getting it in its eyes — that’s ridiculous.”
The type of snake in the Salt Lake City area is the Great Basin Rattlesnake, which Dix said is not an aggressive snake. It would try to get away from people rather than confront them. But if someone persists, it will strike.
A small number of people get bit by snakes every year. People who get bit may have tried to either capture it or kill it, or come upon it by accident, Dix said. They may step into a bush where the snake was hidden, or put their hand on a rock where the snake was basking in the sun.
Contributing: Peter Samore
