Woman left too scared to use her bathroom after seeing snake in toilet

Kacey-Leigh Moss went to use the loo at 6am when she says she suddenly saw a snake's head on her toilet seat. The 21-year-old ran to fetch her boyfriend Harvey who did not believe her at first, since they do not own any snakes. The couple, who have no idea how it got there, waited until the RSPCA opened at 8am to call them and someone arrived at 11am to try and take the snake away. Unfortunately Kasey-Leigh said the snake slithered back down the pipes and she has not seen it since.

Kacey-Leigh, from Burnley in Lancashire, said: “I woke up at about 6am to go to the toilet and as I turned the light on and got closer to the toilet I could see a snake's head lying on the toilet seat. As I got closer it was all spiralled inside the toilet. I froze. I'd never been so scared in my life. I was really shocked, I didn't know what to do. I ran into the bedroom and told my boyfriend and he didn't believe me at first until he went to go look.

“He tried to get some close up pictures of it and as he got close to it, it jumped at him. We googled possible places where they could come and collect it. The RSPCA didn't open until 8am so we had to wait two hours to be able to ring them. They said it's quite an unusual situation. It's very rare obviously in the UK.

“The RSPCA worker came inside and looked at it and tried to use a hook to get it out. As she tried to get it out, it's stomach was stuck because it had got bigger. Its stomach was stuck in the pipe. She tried to hook it again and it had slithered back down the pipe so we currently don't actually know where it is.

“I feel awful that it's potentially lurking in my pipes still. I'm petrified.”

Kacey-Leigh said: “I don't know whether it's from the sewers, whether it's somebody's pet that's escaped from my street. I genuinely don't know. The RSPCA woman said it's not likely that the snake would want to be in the water so she was confused as to why it went back down because they don't tend to live in water because they can't breathe. We've looked in the drain and we keep going back to the toilet but it's nowhere to be seen. I feel like I can't rest until I find it.

“I'm just glad it wasn't in my bed instead. I'm definitely glad I didn't use the toilet before realising it was in there. I've never really been a fan of snakes. I've never held one or anything like that. I've definitely got a phobia of them now.”

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “It must have been quite a shock for the householder to see a snake popping their head up in the toilet! The resident who contacted the RSPCA for help told our Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) that the toilet hadn't been flushing very well for a few weeks, so this slithery visitor may have been lurking in the pipes for some time. The snake was a harmless corn snake, though unfortunately, it disappeared back around the U-bend before she was able to catch it. She has promised to make a return visit if it reappears.

“Snakes are talented escape artists and will take the opportunity of a gap in an enclosure door, or a loose-fitting lid to make a run for it, so the RSPCA advises owners to ensure vivariums are kept secure, and locked if necessary, to prevent accidental escape.

“Our officers have been called to snakes who have been found in lots of unusual places including in a vacuum cleaner, in an oven and in a kitchen drawer! It is possible to microchip pet snakes and the RSPCA would recommend that owners ask their vet to do this where possible, so that snakes can be easily reunited if lost and found.”