The woman taking a nap was ‘terribly shocked’ by the slithering intruder
A woman’s weekend nap turned into the stuff of nightmares when she awoke to find a three-foot long snake trying to get into her bedroom window.
The sleeper, who has not been identified, ran out of her bedroom “terribly shocked”, in Basildon, Essex, and shut the door before phoning the RSPCA to expel the slithering intruder.
The make snake, later identified as a non-venomous corn snake, was trying to find warm spot to relax in Hereford Walk on October 8 and comes just weeks after an 18 foot python caused alarm in Southampton.
Saturday, October 8.
It comes after another slithering serpent – this time an allegedly 18 foot (5.5m) Burmese python – sparked alarm when it tried to sneak into a family home in Southampton in August.
By the time help arrived, the corn snake had taken cover, leading to fears it could have wriggled under the woman’s bed linen.
The snake was later apprehended by an RSPCA officer just one month into the job.
Enola Evans said the woman was “terribly shocked” by the discovery, which was somewhat understandable as “it’s not every day you get woken up by a snake trying to get into your bedroom through a window”.
Evans said when she arrived at the properly there was no sign of the reptile, “so the resident gave me permission to search her bedroom, in case it had come inside and hidden somewhere warm”.
After searching the bed linen, the sneaky snake was still no where to be seen.
Corn snakes, which are often kept as pets, need access to heat to keep their bodies warm. They can grow to 150cm long – just shy of 5ft, and live for 10 to 15 years.
Since the woman’s bedroom window had been open for some time, Evans said, “it was getting quite chilly”, so she shut it. At that point, the intruder re-appeared.
“That’s when I spotted something moving,” Evans explained.
“It was the snake, coiled around the window’s rim. He had been very well-hidden, so I was really pleased to find him.”
The snake was then moved into a carrier and taken to an expert boarding facility for care until he could be reunited with his owner or put up for adoption.
It is unclear where the snake came from.
Last year, the RSPCA received 1,219 reports about pet snakes in need of help, including many stray snakes, Metro reported.
Many of the calls came during the summer months, as snake get more active in hot weather.
RSPCA scientific officer Evie Button explained to Metro: “Snakes are excellent escape artists and will take the opportunity of a gap in an enclosure door, or a loose-fitting lid to make a break for it.”
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