A SIX-FEET long boa constrictor is on the loose in an upmarket Manchester suburb - and residents have been warned to watch their toilet seats.
The alarm was raised after the snake was spotted in an apartment on Clyde Road, West Didsbury.
A 19-year-old man went to the bathroom and spotted the constrictor curled up inside the bowl of the toilet.
He ran from the room and into the garden to find a concrete block which he placed on the toilet seat to stop the snake from escaping.
Fibre optic
RSPCA officials and firefighters were called to the apartment block and used a fibre optic camera to check the drains and plumbing.
But there was no sign of the snake and experts now believe it has entered the sewage system on the street where semi-detached homes go on the market for up to £400,000.
Property agent David Fitzgerald, from landlords KF Property, said: "It was 2am and the resident was obviously quite sleepy so I think he was quite surprised to see the snake there looking back at him.
"He raced down to the garden and got a concrete block which he used to cover the toilet seat and I think he quite forgot about going to the toilet."
Should large snakes be kept as pets? Have your say.
Tenant
Mr Fitzgerald said it was still not certain where the snake had come from but a previous tenant had kept a boa constrictor in his room. "All we know is that we had a tenant in the property who did have a snake and who left a couple of months ago.
"The building has been thoroughly checked out. It's not in the house anymore but I don't think people will be feeling too comfortable."
There are some 100 properties on the street, many of which have been converted into flats.
The RSPCA said there was nothing they could do until the creature was spotted again.
Animal collection officer Donna Holt said: "The camera has done what it can to check the system and it's a question of waiting now.
"We would advise people to keep their toilet lids down and check before using the bathroom."
She stressed that the snake's species had not been confirmed but that any creature should not be approached.
The boa constrictor hails from South America and in the wild eats rodents and small birds and can grow up to five metres (16 feet) long.
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
MG, Chorlton (14/10/2005 at 13:22)
He likes frozen hares.
julie, manchester (14/10/2005 at 14:04)
Malley, dddddddidsbury (14/10/2005 at 14:50)
chris mcgowan, Gorton Manchester (14/10/2005 at 17:20)
Many people are now coming over to the hobby of herpetology, and it is a worthwhile pastime, and isolated incidents like this are VERY rare. It is just the same as a dog escaping, but because there reptiles are not of the norm, the incident is being blown out of proportion.
Chris Mcgowan, keen reptile keeper, and owner of Herpmania.
Will, W Didsbury (14/10/2005 at 17:47)
Dan, Didsbury (14/10/2005 at 18:04)
tom murphy, vancouver island canada (14/10/2005 at 18:29)
Stu, West Didsbury (14/10/2005 at 19:56)
HI, Manchester (14/10/2005 at 22:14)
jamie, clyde road didsbury (14/10/2005 at 22:43)
J, manchester (14/10/2005 at 22:48)
jess, manchester (15/10/2005 at 00:06)
Mark, Fallowfield (15/10/2005 at 21:00)
Iain, Clyde Rd, Didsbury (16/10/2005 at 21:16)
GRR, Chorlton, Manchester (17/10/2005 at 09:32)
Andrew Boulton, Staffordshire (17/10/2005 at 12:30)
And come on, are the RSPCA really suggesting that there is a 6ft long boa living in the sewer system just waiting to pop out of toilets? I presume that there are also giant aligators down there with it??
And if your child really is afraid of being eaten by a completely harmless animal that in reality probably does not exist, then that perhaps says more about you then it does snakes
Rob, Burnage (17/10/2005 at 13:17)
AK, W. Didsbury (17/10/2005 at 15:48)
Jen, West Didsbury (17/10/2005 at 21:08)
RACHAEL, w.didsbury (18/10/2005 at 09:40)
James, London (18/10/2005 at 15:01)
Nicholas Jones, Prestwich (18/10/2005 at 16:28)
dOM, Clyde Road (18/10/2005 at 17:59)
Tim Jones, Corinth, Mississippi (18/10/2005 at 19:36)
Exactly how often, in the experience of the RSPCA, are snakes found in toilets? Why don't Homebase, etc, sell snake guards to put inside toilet bowls?
Also, what was Keith eating in the toilets? Boa Constrictors kill their prey; they don't graze on food left lying about, so to speak.
I think we need to know.
Andrew Boulton, Staffordshire (19/10/2005 at 13:41)
The amazing part of this story is that we are expected to believe that a large constrictor (of varying lengths of 6ft, 10ft and 3.5m depending on reports) is capable of travelling through a u-bend with a 76mm diameter and climbing VERTICALLY up 100mm diameter down pipes. All of this while having icy cold water flushed down over him at regular intervals (he is cold blooded remember). Large snakes when cold, curl up in a ball or head for somewhere warmer - not climbing up through a cold water flush!!