HONOLULU -- A Kuliouou family got quite a scare Thursday night when they discovered a python in their garage.

The 3.5-foot ball python is now in the hands of state agriculture officials. The reptile, which strangles its prey, can grow to 6 feet or longer. It is the third snake found in the islands this year.

A Kuliouou man found the snake close to midnight when he walked into his garage. He had his wife call 911.

"You know, there's a large, long snake in the garage and I don't know who to contact," the wife said on the 911 recording.

"Police called us and confiscated the snake and the resident managed to close the door and contain the snake," state Plant Quarantine Station Manager Neil Reimer said.

Reimer believes the python was smuggled into the state illegally.

"Times when we've found other snakes in the wild it's very hard to handle. They're always trying to bite you. But this one is very easy to handle so I suspect it's somebody's pet that recently escaped," Reimer said.

The fines are steep if you're caught in possession of an alien species. It's a $500-$2,000 fine if you are found keeping an illegal reptile. If you have been breeding them, the fine jumps to $50,000-$200,000.

The department does have an amnesty program so you can turn in an illegal animal -- no questions asked. Just call the pest hot line at 586-PEST.