An Orangevale, Calif., woman who discovered a 3-foot ball python in her toilet may finally know how it got there.
As ABC10 reported, the mystery snake appears to be a lost pet that was previously seen entering a main sewer line before turning up in her bathroom.
Here's what to know
Alyssa Harmon told the station she came home from work Tuesday to her Orangevale house, where a coworker was helping install a portable window air conditioner, when the strange discovery happened.
Harmon said the warning came from the bathroom, where the coworker shouted that there was a snake in the toilet.
"I did not believe him," Harmon recalled to ABC10. "I thought he was making some sort of crazy guy joke."
After lifting the lid herself, Harmon briefly worried the snake's coloring meant it might be a rattlesnake. But after taking a closer look and snapping a photo, she realized it was a ball python, and the station said she and her coworker removed it with a small bucket.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
She then kept the python temporarily while trying to determine where it had come from and who owned it. Harmon told ABC10 the snake appeared healthy, seemed to have eaten recently, and became friendly once it had calmed down.
More background
The answer emerged two days later, when Kim Fitzback recognized the snake after seeing the story on TV.
According to ABC10, Fitzback said tenants on her property, fewer than 10 houses from Harmon's home, had lost their three-year-old pet ball python months earlier while moving to Montana.
Fitzback said the county later responded to a blockage in the main sewer line. The station reported that plumbers scoped the pipe, saw the snake moving into that sewer line, and were unable to catch it. After more time passed without corralling it, the tenants believed it had died, according to ABC10.
Moves and snakes can be a challenging proposition, as the reptiles can be elusive even under regular circumstances. Fortunately, it seems the saga will end happily for Harmon and the one-time neighbors' pet.
What's being done?
After safely getting the snake out of the toilet, Harmon gave it temporary shelter and started looking for either its owner or another place for it to live.
In this case, a local TV report helped connect Harmon with someone who knew where the python might have come from. Getting the word out was a smart move, as it could have potentially reunited a local pet with its owner, or identified a new willing home for the reptile if necessary.
Harmon may now end up adopting the python herself. With more of the snake's history now known, ABC10 reported she may keep it and call it Finn to accompany her boxer dog, Huckleberry.
"Clearly, it's a survivor and I have a new pet," Harmon quipped to the station.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
