| 1 | Kingsnake jumps the Atlantic |
The desert kingsnake is a non-venomous constricting species of the southern US, which is normally found in the arid wastelands of Arizona or New Mexico. In July 2021, however, one somehow found itself tucked behind a roaring fireplace in rural Cheshire.
A landlord had been developing the property, which had recently been vacated. He removed the fireplace, hoping to install a better one, and was greeted by a 120cm, white and black serpent looking straight at him.
The kingsnake was coiled up comfortably, in no rush to leave. How it got there was a mystery, although snakes are experts at navigating through the tiniest of cracks. The landlord was probably used to tenants leaving behind a mess, but not desert serpents from 5000 miles away.
The landlord rang the RSPCA, who sent along animal rescue inspector Anthony Joynes. According to Jonyes: “the fact that it is in such good condition makes me suspect that it is a pet that has escaped“.
This was a bad week for escaped snakes in the UK, as Joynes himself had already dealt with a ball python found slithering across a road, which a member of the public had helpfully contained using a plastic box. Elsewhere, a very cold ratsnake was found on top of a kitchen fridge in St Helens.
| 2 | Wrapped around a pigeon |
In August 2018, London shoppers were greeted by the unusual sight of a beige-black boa constrictor coiled around a pigeon. It was lying on the pavement as people walked past, in front of a store, in the east London district of Leytonstone.
One passer-by screamed, while others gathered around to watch it swallow its meal. According to locals, the snake was completely oblivious: “It was just trying to eat the pigeon, it wasn’t taking any notice of all the people” said Rachel Garland, 29.
Some said that the pigeon was already dead, and had been helpfully dropped in front of the snake. Either way, the boa’s coils were wrapped tightly around the bird’s body, and as onlookers gathered, it began to swallow its prize headfirst.
At first, people took to Twitter warning of a python patrolling London, but the video clearly shows a boa constrictor. Being so absorbed in its meal, the boa was at great risk of being mauled by a dog, or run over by a white van. Eventually, the RSPCA descended on the street, and transported the snake to a nearby wildlife centre. Where the loose boa constrictor originally came from was never explained.
| 3 | Satan breaks free at last |
The largest snake in Africa is the African rock python, which commonly reaches 6 metres, and has even snatched small boys from villages (with some just escaping). In 2017, a rock python called “Satan” lived in the Cornwall apartment of Samuel Maule, 20, who also owned Burmese pythons, boa constrictors and corn snakes.
One day, Maule was giving his python some love and attention, washing her in the bath post skin shed. He walked away for 2 minutes, and that was his first mistake, for Satan seized this opportunity to slither through a gap in the piping behind the toilet.
The snake was now in the apartment block’s walls, and Maule banged on his neighbours’ doors to raise the alarm. Satan could have been round any corner, in the stairwell, or even in someone’s bed. The RSCPA apologised, but were unable to attend until Sunday morning. One neighbour was so scared that she grabbed a quilt and went to sleep in her car.
It took 48 hours to recapture Satan the python, but South West Reptiles Plus eventually located her in the ceiling, using a special camera for narrow places. The python was promptly placed in a cardboard box, and returned to her relieved owner. Satan was now in captivity again, unable to break free, but how long?
| 4 | Washing machine madness |
In their natural US territories, corn snakes are mainly found in woodlands, but apparently, they also have a strange attraction towards washing machines. In 2010, 51 year old Wendy Foley was emptying her daily washing, pulling clean socks and underwear from the machine. Suddenly, she was greeted by the yellow face of a corn snake.
At first, she thought it was part of a pair of jeans, and then a children’s toy. The snake had survived a full washing cycle, and was flecking its tongue at her (possible detecting food).
Foley shrieked, and banged the washing machine shut with her crutches. She ran into the streets calling for help, and a passer-by entered the house to investigate, and declared it to be a boa constrictor. When she rang the RSPCA, they treated it as a nuisance call, and refused to help until the next day.
Lacking the courage to remove the snake, Foley and her 18 and 21 year old children spent a terrified night in bed, fearing that it could escape the washing machine. “They scare me and I have absolutely no idea where this one came from” said Foley. In a separate incident in 2016, a pet corn snake was found curled up below a washing machine, enjoying the warmth, having been missing from a neighbour’s house for 3 months.
| 5 | Boa constrictor defeats RSPCA |
In 2011, Ros Waxler was working in her garden in Barkingside, London, when she entered the shed to grab some equipment. Curled up in the corner, she saw a khaki-coloured boa constrictor, measuring around 10 feet long.
At first, Waxler thought the snake was a belt, but when the truth dawned, she ran to fetch her husband, who didn’t believe her. Waxler nearly had a heart attack, as she had no clue of its danger level, and had only seen snakes in zoos before.
Trained RSPCA operatives soon arrived at Waxler’s house. They knew how to handle escaped household pets, but ended up getting more than they bargained for. “The RSPCA officer attempted to catch the snake but it was too powerful” said Howard Waxler. “They’re such clever creatures” he added.
The snake escaped through an open window, and disappeared into the town’s underbelly. The couple attempted to warn locals of the danger. No conclusion to this tale was ever reported in the media, but with colder weather soon arriving, it was believed that the snake would return home.
| 6 | 70 venomous snakes in London |
It sounded like the stuff of nightmares. The month was August 2021, and the location was Seven Sisters Road, London, where a man’s reptile collection had been breached. According to his frantic phone call to police, 70 venomous snakes had escaped, and were exploring London at this very moment. There was a grave risk to innocent women and children, and dogs alike.
Police took the man seriously, and closed the entire street for one hour just before 8pm. The officers embarked upon a wild goose chase, trying desperately to track the deadly serpents down. It surely wouldn’t be long before they wiped out the entire negihbourhood.
What tools the police used weren’t reported – steel tongs, infrared goggles, magnifying glasses, etc. Twitter users expressed their fears, vowing to stay away from London, and wondering whether snakes on a train could become a real possibility.
In the end, it turned out to have been an elaborate hoax. There was no 70 snakes, and there was no escape. There was, however, a joker chuckling to himself that the police had believed his made up story. The police admitted to having been duped: “At this stage, the incident is being treated as a hoax call“.
| 7 | Burmese python relaxes on roof |
Our next escape tale took place in 2022, in the Hampshire residential area of Chandler’s Ford. The story started when Jenny Warwick looked out of her window, and noticed that the familiar street looked slightly different to normal. Above a bedroom window on the opposite house, resting on the gutter, was a yellow, 6 metre Burmese python.
Neighbours were walking past below, staring up at the python, and not quite believing their eyes. It wasn’t moving, and looked quite comfortable, yet was still a menacing sight.
There was no RSPCA on hand, so instead, the neighbours climbed onto the roof and poked the python. Unfortunately, this just made it fall down and land on the car. Snakes are very light, and the python was thankfully unhurt.
Soon after, Linda Elmer arrived on the scene. She had already met the python, and so she wrapped the entire snake around her neck, and walked down the street. She was completely wrapped in the python (which luckily didn’t squeeze), yet showed no fear, and managed to return it to its rightful owner.
The media couldn’t agree on this incident, as some called the python docile, while others called it “very dangerous” and insisted that it was trying to break into the house.
| 8 | Corn snake goes dark |
In this heartwarming story, a pet corn snake was lost for 6 months before being reunited with its owners. Like Satan the python, this snake escaped while being bathed. Owner Jasmine let her eye off Mikey the corn snake for one minute, and he seized his chance, slithering through a gap behind the sink.
180 days passed, and Jasmine had moved house from Manchester to Stockport. She was sitting in a local pub, drinking a pint, when she read a Facebook post from the new owners, who were greeted by the lost snake almost the second they opened the front door. The stunned Jasmine cried “Mikey’s back!”, and ran out of the pub, leaving her pint half finished.
When she turned up, Mikey was angry, and even snapped at her. He was clearly displeased at his long ordeal. But he was in better condition than one might have expected, perhaps due to mice running around below the floorboards.
Mikey calmed down when Jasmine’s girlfriend arrived, who had previously kept him for 15 years. They put the escaped snake in a pillowcase, and transported him back to Stockport, his new home.
| 9 | Ball python wants a hug |
In July 2018, a Kensington woman endured the horror of all horrors: she woke up one morning with a 3 foot snake sharing her bed. The snake was a ball python, perhaps the longest-lived snake on Earth, and a relatively docile pet.
The snake had the typical dark and light brown colours of its species, and wasn’t preparing to bite or squeeze. Nevertheless, the woman threw her sheets off and climbed out as quickly as possible. She closed the bedroom door to prevent the python’s escape, and phoned the RSPCA.
When animal controller Jill Sanders arrived, the snake had gone. Had it climbed out of the window, or entered the plumbing? Nobody knew. The next day, Sanders was summoned back, only to find the ball python in the apartment block’s corridor.
In October 2022, another woman was shocked when she woke up in a chiller than expected room. She moved to close the window she’d accidentally left open, but instead saw a yellow-red, 90cm corn snake trying to force its way in. The RSCPA finally arrived, and couldn’t find the snake anyway, checking under the bed, in cupboards and the corridor. But eventually, they found the corn snake coiled around the window’s rim, having barely moved.
| 10 | 2.7 metre escapee, Cambridge |
One of the largest snakes to escape in Britain recently was Turin the reticulated python, who measured 2.7 metres. The reticulated python is the world’s longest snake, and is native to Thailand. The longest confirmed wild individual measured 6.95 metres, and Turin made his escape on June 30th 2019, slithering through an open window in Cambridge while the owner’s friend was “snake-sitting”.
It all began with a sighting on Lovell Road, of a three metre python, phoned into police. Eventually, officers located the owner, who confirmed that Turin was his.
An atmosphere of dread descended onto Cambridge, with the knowledge that the massive python was out there somewhere, roaming the streets. One fearful resident said that her young children could “probably fit in a python’s mouth pretty easily, I’d imagine“. The police issued a warning stating that dogs could probably fight back, but that rabbits were in grave danger.
Eventually, on July 4th, the owner head a cry of “snake, snake, snake” from the garden. He discovered Turin in a tree, and it took the aid of several neighbours to bring him down. The terror had lasted for 4 days.