Under their kitchen sink, a couple found something unexpected: a tiny snake they believed was a ring-necked snake, stuck to painters' tape over a gap their cat liked to investigate.
They stayed calm and used Q-tips and olive oil to loosen the snake from the tape, after which it slithered away unbothered, as detailed in a post on Reddit's r/snakes.
Here's what to know
The original poster found the snake under a sink they suspected mice were using to enter.
(Click here if embedded video does not appear.)
After describing how the couple found the trapped snake, the original poster explained how they freed it.
"We used qtips and olive oil to gently remove him, and he slithered away fine in the end," they continued.
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The user also made clear that the tape wasn't there to trap snakes or any other animals.
"I don't condone glue traps or any traps of that sort, he just happened to be in an unlucky spot," the original poster noted.
More background
One commenter stepped in to reassure the user that the snake in question likely posed no danger to the couple and their cat.
"A snake this small may not even be able to bite you or your cat, even if they hypothetically managed to get their little mouth on you the likelihood of them being able to break the skin is low," they replied.
Some responses focused on the rescue itself and thanked the user for being kind to the snake.
"Awesome! Thank you for saving it," one commenter wrote.
"This is both a lucky and an unlucky snek," another observed.
What can be done?
For their part, the original poster said they were simply grateful that the snake survived the encounter.
"I'm happy that we got to be graced with his presence and that he was still alive and healthy," their post concluded.
Where can I learn more?
The under-the-sink rescue echoed other household snake run-ins.
Small openings were blamed for more snakes getting into Mid-South homes, harmless visitors startled people inside East Texas cabins, and snake catchers in Australia urged people to respond more carefully near houses.
• Across the Mid-South, snake calls surged 50 percent as tiny openings let them into homes.
• At an East Texas cabin, a harmless western ratsnake prompted a routine pest inspection.
• In Australia, a red-bellied black snake was killed before a catcher arrived.
These stories remind us that snakes show up around homes more often than many people realize. What happens next usually comes down to whether people stay calm, figure out what they're dealing with, and act in the best interests of humans and wildlife alike.
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