Snake Found At Princeton Elementary School Inspires Compassion, Creativity

PRINCETON, NJ — The third graders in Megan Reilly’s class at Riverside Elementary School in Princeton have a pet snake in their classroom. Her name is Cuddles. On Tuesday, Cuddles received a visitor.

When Reilly noticed a boa constrictor coiled in the back of the classroom, she quickly realized it wasn’t Cuddles, but a boa constrictor that was nearly identical to the students’ beloved pet.

Riverside Elementary School science teacher Mark Eastburn suspects that Cuddles’ scent drew the male snake, which the students named Zeus, to Reilly’s classroom.

“My students were all very excited that we had a visitor seeking friendship in Cuddles,” Reilly said. “They were all asking if I could keep the snake so that Cuddles would not be lonely anymore. They also suggested that Cuddles and Zeus should get married, which was very cute.”

However, there was to be no reptile nuptials exchanged this day. Zeus appeared to have been someone’s pet, and not in ideal health when he was found, according to school officials.

He was moved from Reilly’s classroom to Eastburn’s science classroom, where he was put safely in a container.

Princeton’s Department of Animal Control picked up Zeus from Riverside Elementary on Wednesday morning and will be working with Scales and Tails Exotic Pet Rescue in Randolph to find a new home for the snake.

Even though he is no longer in their classroom, the students are still concerned about his safety. One student told Reilly that she should contact whoever adopts Zeus “so we can know for sure that they’re gonna really take care of him.”

“This has been a joyous story for us,” Riverside Elementary School Principal Valerie Ulrich said. “Our discovery saved the snake’s life.”

Reilly even used the incident as a learning opportunity. She asked her students to write a fictional story about the snake’s adventures and how he ended up in the classroom. The stories were written from the snake’s perspective.

The students were full of ideas, speculating that perhaps he got on a plane and flew to New Jersey or that he came to Riverside Elementary looking for his “sister,” Cuddles. One student imagined that an ugly princess was going to give Zeus as a gift to a king, but he escaped and slithered all the way to Trenton, where he smelled a mate – Cuddles.

“In all my years in education, I have never before encountered this particular situation,” said Princeton Superintendent of Schools Steve Cochrane, adding that he was proud of the way the students handled the situation. “You might think that the students would be terrified by finding a snake in their classroom. Instead, a likely terrified snake was lucky enough to find a compassionate class of third graders.”

The attached images of Zeus were provided by the Princeton School District