In the latest news about writhing reptiles, a snake was found hidden in the electrical outlet of a house in Charleston, South Carolina – along with nearly twenty of its babies.
According to WYFF News 4, the snake was discovered a few weeks ago, as well as several of its eggs.
David Adams, who works for Alpha Wildlife, helped remove the snake from his makeshift home.
“The snake was a rat snake and she had laid her eggs, about 15-20, on the way out, which was really interesting,” said Adams, describing the scene. “When you took off the cloak, there were all these little jewels. They looked like porcelain eggs. They were really cool – and they all hatched.”
Rat snakes are not poisonous and pose little threat to humans.
Dealing with the snake itself was relatively simple: the 60-cm-long creature was safely captured and taken to a new habitat more than 40 kilometers away. Understandably, the owners are reportedly relieved that the snake is no longer living in their home.
However, there was still the issue of baby snake born. According to Adams, the dispersion of babies after hatching and capturing was an ongoing process.
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This particular rat snake is not alone in its affinity for human dwellings – recently there have been several reports of snakes unexpectedly appearing in people’s homes. Earlier this week, for example, it was reported that a man in Thailand discovered a python in his bathroom after sitting down and feeling something nudge his bottom.
A family in Florida was similarly surprised to find that the excess lint in their dryer was due to a blockage caused by a dead snake.
As scary as it may be, Adams noted in his interview with WYFF that finding a snake in someone’s home is “more common than you might think”.
He also warns not to jump to conclusions on the matter. “Snakes are very, very shy,” he said. “They don’t want to be around you. As soon as they feel you are going through the vibrations, they will try to get away as quickly as possible.”
He added: “Snakes in general, with the exception of venomous ones, are good. They are there for a reason. They are good for our environment. They are good for the food chain. They are not bad. They are not going hurt you. “