An apartment dweller in Dublin was confronted with a slithery surprise when he found a snake coiled up in his bedroom.
Diego Pastori was readying himself for bed late on Wednesday of last week when he found the reptile curled up beside his window, and called gardaí for assistance.
“I was going to bed and I saw just a normal spider in my room. I was wondering because I had never seen a spider in this flat before and I’ve been living here for three years. I kept looking for more spiders in the bedroom, and when I pulled out my bed I just saw this yellow thing right beside it,” he said.
Pastori initially dismissed it as a cruel prank by his flatmate but soon realised it was indeed a live animal, although gardaí remained unconvinced when he contacted them for help.
Investigating gardai were still suspicious of his claims when they arrived at the apartment, only to find a 75cm long non-venomous corn snake minutes later.
A video taken by Mr Pastori appears to show gardaí attempting to coax it into a box using a coat hanger, and because the incident lasted until around 1am on Thursday he was told that a specialist snake handler was not available, and so the animal was apparently kept in Garda custody until later in the morning.
It was not an amusing occurrence to Mr Pastori at the time who says he is “freaked out” by snakes. However he has since been able to see the funny side because his apartment is on Patrick Street in Dublin’s south inner city, directly across the road from the cathedral named after that great banisher of serpents.
Although he hails from Brazil where such creatures are plentiful, this was the first time he had ever come across one outside of captivity.
Pastori believes it may have belonged to someone in the locality, and most likely slipped through an open window before nestling under his bed.
The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) education officer Gillian Bird said the organisation receives a number of calls each year relating to stray snakes.
“So far this year we have taken in eight stray snakes, including one just after St Patrick’s Day from a house where it fell out of a hole in the ceiling onto a person’s head,” she said.
“Snakes are great escape artists and will take every opportunity to escape. They can often be found up to one year later living in attics, hot-presses and behind bathroom fittings. If someone comes across one, cover it with a box and call the Garda or DSPCA,” she said.