Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

SNAKE ACCOMMODATIONS

92 snakes displaced by pipeline work spending the winter at Wildlife Park health centre

Dec 8, 2020 | 4:40 PM

KAMLOOPS — The BC Wildlife Park is hosting more than 90 snakes for the winter after their hibernation habitats were disturbed during Trans Mountain pipeline construction.

Three different hibernacula were found during TMX work back in October and the snakes inside were carefully removed and temporarily relocated to the park. The Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre now has a deli fridge full of 92 snakes.

When asked whether the park has ever had so many snakes in its care, Animal Care Manager Tracy Reynolds says this quantity is a first.

“We do get some every year that do get dug up – lots of times in the middle of winter so they have to come in and we just kind of put them back to sleep. As long as there is no injuries on them,” she explains, “If there’s an injury then we do keep them up and treat the injury, but for the most part we just put them back in the fridge and then wait for the weather to change.”

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The park had to get its hands on a larger fridge to accommodate the guests. Staff use a monitored thermometer to make sure the temperature stays between five and seven degrees.

The scaly guests are young and old, big and small, and are made up of Gopher snakes and Racers. Reynolds says they don’t need to be fed like normal during hibernation, and they’ll be kept in the fridge until it’s time to wake up.

Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

“I think we’ll probably keep them in there until it’s spring and then when we know that the temperature is going to start rising we can start increasing the temperature of the snakes in the fridge until they’re ready to be released.”

Reynolds adds they will be released back to the area they came from.