Boa constrictor is emotional support pet, says passenger at Tampa Airport

TSA agents in Florida found a four-foot boa constrictor in a woman's carry-on bag after her suitcase was passed through an X-ray machine.

The woman told agents at Tampa International Airport that the snake was 'an emotional support pet,' a TSA spokesperson said.

The TSA released X-ray images of the snake on Friday. They showed it curled up in the corner of a tray next to ordinary items such as sneakers, a belt, and a laptop.

It says it notified the airline which confirmed that it would not allow the snake in the plane's cabin. The TSA said snakes are never allowed to travel in carry-on luggage and only on some airlines can they be checked-in.

TSA agents in Florida found a four-foot long boa constrictor in a woman's carry-on bag after her suitcase was passed through an X-ray machine

The woman and her snake, named Bartholomew, were traveling from Tampa Airport on December 15, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told CNN Travel.

Farbstein tweeted: 'Woman claimed the snake was her emotional support pet. TSA notified the airline, which ruled that there was not going to be a snake on their plane!' 

This is not the first time a snake in Florida has attempted to breach airport security.

Just a couple months prior, a flight from Tampa International actually took off with a garter snake in the cabin.

United Airlines flight 2038 had just arrived at Newark after a two-hour flight from Florida when the reptile was spotted on the plane as passengers were getting ready to get off.

After the incident United said in a statement that although it has 'no weight or breed limitations for pets' flying in its aircraft only cats and dogs are permitted.

 The woman told TSA employees that she had brought the snake with her as an 'emotional support pet'

TSA employees contacted the woman's airline which confirmed it would not allow the boa (stock) in the cabin

TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said the woman was traveling on December 15 last month

On another occasion in 2018, TSA employees in Miami found a ball python tied in a nylon stocking and hidden inside a hard drive by a woman traveling to Barbados.

Screeners operating the X-ray machine detected an 'organic mass' inside the electronic device, which turned out to be the snake.

A TSA spokesperson said a bomb expert examined the bag and discovered the animal.

'While this mass inside the electronic device was obviously not an imminent terrorist threat to the traveling public, the kind we are always on high alert to, the interception did prevent a possible wildlife threat on an aircraft,' she stated.

The passenger was fined, and the snake was taken into custody by US Fish and Wildlife Services. Neither woman nor snake made the flight.