Biosecurity officers searching for a South American boa constrictor on the Gold Coast have done a letterbox drop to warn locals about the snake.
Dozens of officers have been hunting day and night to find the exotic snake in bushland at The Spit after police unwittingly released it late last month, thinking it was a native python.
The reptile, which could grow up to 4m long and weigh more than 40kg, was found at the base of a tree on a footpath in busy Surfers Paradise.
Well-meaning police sent the 2m specimen into the bush, but an ensuing media story quickly alerted authorities that an illegal, exotic pest had been set free.
Biosecurity Queensland has been searching for the snake, and has done a letterbox drop and put up signs around The Spit warning people a boa constrictor might be in the area.
The department is waiting for more advice on how to find the "class one pest" from national and international authorities.
Class one pest means it has the potential to affect native animals and spread new diseases.
It is illegal to keep boa constrictors in Queensland and authorities believe the animal would have been brought into Australia as part of the black market trade in pets.
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