Elusive Verdun python finally nabbed

Thepet royal python which escaped from its home in Verdun in lateAugust has been caught by the borough.

A Verdun resident spotted the wayward python on hisbalcony at around 3 p.m. Monday and covered it with a box before calling boroughauthorities.

The pythonwas not far from the place where it took refugemore than a month agobetween the walls of an apartment complex onWillibrord Street near 1st Avenue.

The borough of Verdun's mayor,Jean-FranoisParenteau, said the python was in poorshape, likely due to a lack of food and the cold.

Snake 'hasn't eaten much in more than a month'

"He was not very strong,"Parenteau told CBC News."He looked a little bit sick. We know he hasn't eaten much in more than a month."

The 1.2-metre-long python escaped Aug. 25 from a home on 1st Avenue.

Police worked with a specialized company, Animex,to help find it.

Because of the snake's condition, the pythonwas transported to a specialized veterinarian in Pierrefonds for care.

Parenteau says the snake is expected to survive.

Montreal police have notified the owner that the snake is alive and being treated.

The owner will be expected to pay the veterinarian for the cost of the snake's care.

Parenteausaid if the owner can't afford to pay the vet bills, the snake may be sent to the SPCA.