Python left on Garden State Parkway in Bloomfield is rescued by state police

A New Jersey state trooper rescued a python on the Garden State Parkway in Bloomfield on Friday morning, spokesman Sgt. Jeff Flynn said.

New Jersey State Police reported on Facebook that they received a call at 9:59 a.m., saying a snake was "dropped in a toll collector's basket at the southbound Essex tolls."

Trooper Steven Vallejo responded to the scene, where a maintenance worker had found the snake in a broken aquarium on the side of the road near the tolls.

Vallejo used his baton to handle the snake. Neither Vallejo nor the snake was injured, police said.

The incident remained under investigation.

Needs home

It is rare for the state police to recover exotic pets, Flynn said. "Each situation is unique, to ensure [the animals] are placed and properly cared for," he added.

In this case, authorities took the snake to NJ Exotic Pets in Lodi, where it was quite the celebrity on Sunday afternoon.

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Store owner Joseph Aversa described the animal as a female ball python, about 2 years old.

"Because she did experience a blast of cold, we want to make sure she doesn't have any respiratory infections," Aversa told The Record and NorthJersey.com. "One of the key ingredients to keeping most snakes is they need to be in a very warm environment."

"We don't see any outward reasons to have concern. It looks healthy and in very good shape," he said. "My vet will check it out real quick, and once we know it's OK, that it doesn't have mites or other issues, then we will turn around and adopt her out."

"It's an everyday animal," Aversa said about caring for the snake. "Basically, they require lighting for heat, and you need water, and mice or rats for food. This one is probably on rats by this point."

"You got to keep their bedding and caging clean, and play with them," he added.

Email: proctor@northjersey.com