Workers at Tampa International Airport discovered a 4-foot boa constrictor packed in a passenger’s luggage, authorities said Friday.
The coiled reptile was discovered as the baggage passed through an X-ray machine, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.
Images posted by the agency showed the animal near a pair of shoes and what appeared to be a laptop.
“Our officers at Tampa International Airport didn’t find this hyssssssterical!” the agency said.
The agency says it routinely screens pets, but animals should never be placed in an X-ray machine. It’s up to the airline as to whether it will allow a pet on board, the agency says.
In 2019, a loose 15-inch ring-necked snake was discovered near a TSA checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport when a passenger seemingly left it behind, the agency said.
The year before, at Miami International Airport, TSA workers found a python wrapped in what appeared to be a stocking that was hidden in a computer hard drive. The passenger, who was headed to Barbados, was fined and the snake was confiscated.