IT’S REAL, I TELL YOU! IT’S REAL: You might have heard about a huge, somewhat greenish-hued snake seen and re-seen in New Jersey’s Lake Hopatcong. Size estimates ranged from six feet to infinity.

I, like many astute folks, refuse to discount the exciting possibility of a super snake free-ranging in NJ. I base my belief on the growing cadre of people owning exotic pet snakes. Boas, anacondas and pythons are always huge on the must-have list of habituated herpers.

Herper is a shortened form of the word herpetologist – sans the “tologist” part, which demands actual schooling. Yuck.