Family’s 8-foot-long boa constrictor is lost in Clark County
Kia the constrictor is on the loose again.
The 8-foot-long snake that was once caught crossing a Lexington street has been on the lam in Clark County since Tuesday.
Wes Cartwright said he’s hoping Winchester residents will help him keep an eye out for the red-tailed boa constrictor.
He said he hopes people will “check their landscaping ... outbuildings ... under decks ... if they feel comfortable doing that.”
The snake was found crossing Williamsburg Court in Lexington in July 2022 and put up for adoption by the Lexington Humane Society.
Cartwright said in an interview Saturday night that his family adopted the boa, which was initially named William. He said the family renamed the snake Kaa, after the character in “The Jungle Book,” until it was determined to be a female, and they renamed it Kia.
On Tuesday, Cartwright said Kia was being held in a travel carrier outside his garage when she escaped. He said he believes she went down the sewer drain system.
Cartwright said the snake was spotted at noon Thursday on a doorbell camera at a home on Hood Avenue in Winchester.
“They saw it going across the front yard,” he said.
He said that sighting was near the intersection of Hood Avenue and Hampton Avenue, which is near the Winchester Country Club.
Cartwright said he spent six or seven hours Saturday searching for his lost pet.
“I thought it would come out in the sun since it was a little warmer,” Cartwright said. “It’s really hot and humid, and she’s having fun.”
His concern is that his family pet will be run over by a vehicle or hurt by a large dog.
He said she’s “well fed” on a diet of rats.
“It’s kind of the talk of the town right now,” Cartwright said. “Surely somebody will see it.”
A post the family made on the Lost and Found Pets of Winchester, Kentucky Facebook page had been shared more than 900 times.
Cartwright said anyone who sees the snake can call him or his wife at 859-595-7075 or 859-556-1092.
