A peculiar pet is scaring neighbors on Combie Road in Meadow Vista.

On Monday, Ron and Lisa Fifield spotted a flier notifying residents of a missing pet anaconda.

According to the flier, the snake’s name is Candy and she doesn’t like small children or animals. The flier says a reward would be issued to anyone who could bring Candy home, but the phone number at the bottom of the flier is disconnected.

Lisa Fifield said if the flier is a hoax, she thinks whoever put it up should be punished.

“I think they should be in trouble for it if it is (a hoax), because it’s not funny,” Lisa Fifield said. “It’s a panic actually.”

The flier suggests people stay a safe distance away from Candy because she can attack, but if anyone finds her they should “try to lure her in with a rat into a pillow case, but keep your distance.”

Dana Michaels, information officer from the Department of Fish and Game North Central Region, said anacondas are legal in California, so owners don’t have to have permits to keep them as pets.

Barbara Fifield, Ron Fifield’s mother, said on Monday neighbors thought the fliers might be a hoax, but as fliers grew in number from three to about eight and spread down Combie Road, her family started considering the fact that Candy might be a real missing snake.

“We thought, ‘I wonder if someone is thinking this is a funny thing to do,’ but now my son is saying, ‘No, Mom, now (the fliers) are all the way up to the firehouse,’” Barbara Fifield said.

Michaels said anacondas are water snakes, so waterways, pools and golf course water traps might be the best places to find them.

Barbara Fifield said she is concerned about her 4-year-old grandson and her pets.

“We don’t know what to do,” she said. “We do have small animals. They don’t run loose, but it says on their flier (anacondas) don’t like small animals or small children.”

Ron Fifield said he empties his pool when his son isn’t swimming.

“I don’t want to come out with some snake in my swimming pool,” Ron Fifield said. “It makes me feel unsafe. My wife doesn’t really want my kid to go outside and play in his pool. I’m hoping we can come up with it just being a hoax, but we don’t know.”

The Rancho Cordova Fish and Game office has received a couple of calls about the fliers, but they can’t prevent the owners from having the snake because it is not illegal, Michaels said.

“I hope the people find their snake as quickly as possible before it hurts any people, pets or livestock,” Michaels said.

Residents should be as careful as possible around exotic animals, Michaels said.

“Stay away from them would be the first thing,” she said. “If you see one and it’s in a place it shouldn’t be, call your local animal control office.”

Gabe Kerschner, president of Wild Things, Inc., a wildlife rescue organization in Weimar, said he doesn’t think residents should be overly worried about the snake.

“Obviously it depends on the size of the animal as to if people need to be concerned or not,” Kerschner said. “Anacondas, they are a constrictor and they do kill prey, but obviously that has been blown out of proportion by movies.”

Kerschner described anacondas as large-bodied snakes with yellow or green coloring and circles down their sides.

Snakes aren’t usually far from home when they get loose, Kerschner said.

“Snakes do escape a lot,” he said. “Usually they’re found within the home down in the heating ducts or something like that. That’s our experience.”

Kerschner said if Candy managed to escape, it’s probably not a very big snake.

Michaels said if the snake were found, Fish and Game would work with Placer County Animal Services if the county requests assistance.

The Fifields said they, as well as other neighbors, have called Placer County Animal Services with concerns.

Tim Goffa, supervisor of Placer County Animal Services, said that while anacondas would fall under Fish and Game’s jurisdiction, they would respond if the snake were found.

“If the neighbors do see something unusual like that, they can call Placer County Animal Services and we would respond,” Goffa said.

Goffa said that while calls may have come in to animal services about the snake, he hasn’t been informed of the situation and he was unaware of the fliers as of Wednesday afternoon.

A list of illegal animals can be found on the Department of Fish and Game’s website at dfg.ca.gov. The department’s website also has a page dedicated to educating people about living safely around wild animals.

Anyone who spots Candy is encouraged to call Placer County Animal Services.

Lisa Fifield said she hopes information on the whereabouts of the snake is available soon.

“I’m scared to death,” she said.

Reach Bridget Jones at bridgetj@goldcountrymedia.com

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For information or to report anaconda’s whereabouts:

Call: Placer County Animal Services, (530) 886-5500 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (530) 886-5500      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Visit: dfg.ca.gov for a list of illegal pets in California, dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild for tips on how to live safely around wild animals.