Help, I've found a snake in my house!

http://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Coral_snake_mimics.gif

does it look like one of those?

sorry i’m not much help. can you call an exterminator or some one?

Nope, none of those. It’s got no yellow on it. Just orange and black. Bright orange.

You could contact the RSPCA for advice. http://www.rspca.org.uk/

Does it look like this ? If so, they’re commonly kept as pets. Please don’t panic – even if venomous, it’s very unlikely to bother you. Call your local SPCA or animal control.

Run and hide. Run and hide. God be with you.

Hmmm, yes, could be a corn snake. I’ll look into it further.

Listen to @syz. Whatever type of snake it is, call animal control to take care of it.

Please be humane. It is a living creature.

A snake is your house is better than a snake in your boot.

But seriously, if your not comfortable in confronting the snake yourself, or if you can’t identify it, then you should definitely call animal control.

Please treat it kindly- and welcome to Fluther!

If it is a corn snake, then it is an escapee from the pet store, and it is not venomous. It will, however, eat all your mice.

Since you are in the UK, do you call the RSPCA for things like this?

Where’s @Delirium when you need her?

Relax. If it is behind the fridge, where it is warm, it will stay there unless disturbed. Call the animal people, and wear shoes in the house until it is gone. By and large, snakes are timid.

@Dog -Your right
If it is small don’t be afraid of it snakes can be harmless if you don’t do anything to them it might be a corn snake.I have a little one it’s orange of course with white stripes and it doesn’t attack my little sisters or anything though they deserve it they are harmless but if your really scared call animal control

I found this site which may be of help: http://www.woking.gov.uk/planning/envhealthservice/pest/snakes

Apparently there are only a few types of snakes that live in the UK, and none of them are remotely orange. What you probably have is someone’s escaped pet, which means it is probably harmless. There’s contact information on that site if you want to call the RSPCA. Please be nice to the snake! They are such cool creatures.

I don’t fool around with any snakes, the identification process is too much for me. I play it on the safe side and call for help.

So don’t try to capture it yourself, call cops, fire, RSPCA and stay out of its way in the meantime.

@rooeytoo If I lived in an area with venomous snakes, I’d probably feel the same way! As it is, we love snakes.

@MissAusten – I have never understood feeling affection for snakes, I always prefer furry and warm. But I must say when I was adopted by a cockatiel and a chicken, I did develop affection for them too. So if I am ever adopted by a snake perhaps I will change my mind.

@rooeytoo Well, affection may be too strong of a word. Insead of “We” I should have said, “My nutty kids.” We don’t actually have a pet snake, nor do I ever want one. I think they’re cool. When they’re outside, in the wild, and also happen to be harmless.

I had to care for a variety of non-venomous snakes for many years when I worked in a museum. I must admit that, while I think snakes are beautiful, tortoises have much more personality and even almost come when you call. Tortoises also live a long time which means you definitely get your money’s worth.

However, snakes are fascinating creatures and I definitely identify with Larsen’s cartoon where the snake mom is telling her son to help Grampa eat by wiggling Grampa’s rat (having cared for several geriatric snakes). Also, once we started feeding with “mousicles” (frozen mice) we had fun teasing the other staff members about warming them for the snakes by using the linch room microwave (we actually immersed them while encased in a waterproof bag in hot water from the tap).

In any case, call the RSPCA, or even that pet store you say is near you. Some color varieties of corn snakes are quite valuable and they may be eager to get it back.

And come back and tell us what it is.

@Mushy99 I’m scared that it may be dangerous and I have a small child. It’s currently hiding behind the fridge.

Why is your child hiding behind the frig? Does it think that snakes a frig-aphobic?

Hi, thanks for all your answers. It was an escaped corn snake from the pet shop after all. Phew.

So the escapee is safe and home? Wonderful news!