When signing up to be a police officer for the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, you might think you could be sure that dealing with snakes wouldn’t be part of the job description, but that’s exactly the situation officers found themselves in during a recent investigation.

Las Vegas police said officers encountered 30 boa constrictors while searching a home in the Southern Highlands community and had to call the local Animal Control for backup.

Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Larry Hadfield said officers found the snakes during a follow-up to a gangs and vice bureau investigation at a home near Shinnecock Hills Avenue and Southern Highlands Parkway.

Police called Clark County Animal Control to the scene to assess the situation, and while it was odd to own that many snakes, Animal Control determined that the animals were properly cared for, so no criminal charges were necessary.

“Animal Control responded and determined the possession of the animals was not criminal,” Hadfield told theLas Vegas Review-Journal in an email.

Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said local laws do not prohibit having that many snakes in a residence.

Kulin said that if the owner was not properly caring for the animals, he could be charged with animal cruelty.

“However, for practical purposes there would be a limit on the number of animals that someone could adequately care for,” Kulin said. “For any legally owned animal the owner must provide clean water and food, a clean area or cage, the animal(s) must be kept in an appropriate area, and if confined to a cage the animal must be confined in a safe manner. Failure to provide a safe and clean living space could lead to animal cruelty charges.”

Kulin added that for this case, the boas were “in appropriate cages,” so Animal Control let them be.