A family were shocked when they discovered a huge 5ft python sleeping on their boiler.
The RSPCA was called to a home in Tooting Bec, south London, where a nanny had found the reptile curled up in the kitchen.
The 1.5m python can deliver a nasty bite before wrapping around its victim to cut off blood supply.
Believed to have been abandoned, the snake was in the warmest part of the house and clung to the boiler pipe.
Animal rescue officer Abigail Campbell said: “I saw the python curled up on top of the boiler. He was most likely up there as it would have been the warmest part of the house and snakes need external heat sources to regulate body temperature.
“The nanny thinks he got into the boiler room through a gap in the wall from the garden. We believe he has either escaped or was abandoned nearby.
“He was skinny. I nudged him to make sure he wasn’t aggressive. But he allowed me to pick him up no problem, though he did cling on to the boiler pipe tightly, he was very strong.
“He was very chilled and became somewhat lively once he had been picked up, looking around and smelling the air. He was placed in a snake bag where he chilled out again and curled up.”
The python was taken to South Essex Wildlife Hospital and posters were put up around the area. There have been no calls to it has been assumed he was abandoned.
Abigail Campbell said: “Sadly it is not unusual for us to be called to collect an abandoned snake. ‘We believe many people are unaware of how much of a commitment these animals are when they take them on, and we suspect the reality of caring for them has become too much in these cases.
“This is why we would encourage anyone thinking of getting an exotic pet to find out as much as possible about the animal’s needs and whether they’re the right pet for them.
“It is so sad as people who are struggling to cope could simply ask for help and advice which is why the RSPCA has launched its dedicated cost of living web pages.”
