If Latin Way has a mice problem, then the mice in Latin Way now have a problem.
A student's pet boa constrictor escaped from its cage on Friday and is now believed to be trapped in the residence hall's walls.
The university's pest control contractor told the Department of Facilities that the 11-inch-long snake will probably die in the walls unless it happens upon an opening through which to escape, according to Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Sgt. Darren Weisse.
"The gentleman that we use said if the snake gets in the wall and could not find its way out, it would perish in the wall, and there would be no stench in the wall. Wherever it is, it's still there somewhere," Weisse said in an interview yesterday evening.
"According to All Star [Pest Control], you can't coax a snake out with food or anything," Weisse said, referring to the Somerville-based company.
Carrie Ales, assistant director of community and judicial affairs for the Office of Residential Life and Living, sent an e-mail to Latin Way residents on Friday afternoon alerting them to the fact that a snake was on the loose.
University policy prohibits students from keeping pets in on-campus housing, excepting only "approved service animals or fish in tanks no larger than 10 gallons," according to "Habitats," the school's official guide to residential life.
Ales said that ResLife was in the process of deciding how to punish the student for keeping a snake in an on-campus room. "I have been in contact with the student and will be meeting with them this week to discuss their consequences," Ales told the Daily in an e-mail. She did not respond to a follow-up message requesting the identity of the student.
