An Australian air conditioning worker expected a routine repair visit at a rural property. Instead, after climbing into the attic above the unit, he found about 20 snake skins.
Here's what to know
Matt Sellen of Coolman Air Conditioning & Pro-Active Maintenance had been called to a macadamia farm in the Byron Bay area of New South Wales to check a malfunctioning air conditioner when he came across clear signs that snakes had been using the attic, Newsweek reported.
"I noticed an abundance of snake skins all around, everywhere I looked," Sellen said via email. He briefly looked for the snake or snakes that had left them behind but did not spot any.
He also filmed what he found for his co-workers, and the footage was shared by Coolman Air Conditioning (@coolmanairconditioning) on Instagram.
Around Byron Bay, Sellen said, this kind of discovery is not unusual. "In Australia, it's very common to find snake skins and snakes in the roof cavities of rural homes," he told Newsweek, noting that carpet pythons are common. The large, nonvenomous snakes are common on hinterland properties and can help by preying on rats and possums.
More background
Roof cavities can provide warmth, dry conditions, and shelter. Farms and homes can attract rodents, which in turn draw predators such as pythons.
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The shed skins suggested animals had been using the building for some time. Sellen said the owners of the property likely would not mind.
Snakes shed for a few reasons, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, as Newsweek reported. It happens when they're growing, responding to hormonal changes tied to reproduction, or healing from an injury.
What can be done?
For Sellen, the find was more interesting than alarming.
"Carpet pythons are not aggressive and are nonvenomous, so I was not scared or frightened — more intrigued and excited to find one," he told Newsweek. "... I just carried on with my job and moved on to the next one. It was just another day in Australia."
Where can I learn more?
The Byron Bay attic discovery isn't the only case of snakes showing up around homes and air conditioners. From Queensland to Arkansas, these articles look at other encounters.
At a Queensland home, a snake catcher found a python atop the air conditioner outside.
In Queensland, a venomous brown tree snake turned a home's model train tunnel into a nap spot.
In Arkansas, snakes taking over a vacant home were linked to harmless sheltering behavior.
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