This probably isn't something you thought you needed to be afraid of.
Think again?
A Virginia woman called Animal Control last week after she found a snake in a toilet in an Arlington County apartment. To repeat: She. Found. A. Snake. In. A. Toilet.
An animal control officer was able to safely remove the "lost and confused" snake and brought him to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, the animal shelter said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
The snake is a juvenile yellow anaconda, the animal shelter said. Yellow anacondas can grow to be 13 feet long and to weigh more than 100 pounds.
The shelter has named him Sir Hiss.
Well, they think the snake is a him. It's hard to tell, with snakes.
Fortunately, animal control officers were able to find a specialist who will be able to care for the snake, animal shelter officials said. The snake will not be available for adoption, because the shelter finds that snakes that grow that large -- and have special care needs -- aren't appropriate for adoptions.
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"We highly encourage anyone thinking about having a snake as a pet to do extremely thorough research to determine whether they will be able to adequately care for their snake," they said. "...Plus, [no one] likes being surprised by a lost and confused snake in their toilet!"
True. So, so very true.
No one knows exactly how the snake got into the toilet, but there is a "high, high, high likelihood" that someone in the building owned the snake and it either got out of its enclosure or it was abandoned, said Chelsea Lindsey, a communications specialist with the Animal Welfare League.
Then, the snake could have traveled through pipes, Lindsey said -- it has been known to happen, as snakes seek out water. But it's also possible the snake slithered through another hole and decided a nice body of water was a good place to hang out. "Snakes are very good at getting into small places," Lindsey said.
Reports of snakes in toilets aren't common, but have happened before. "This is not the first time I have ever heard of this," Lindsey said.
