THE COMMON PERCEPTION is that there are no snakes in Ireland. St Patrick or an Ice Age saw to that, depending upon who you talk to.

Try telling that to a homeowner in Glasnevin, Dublin, who encountered this little fella recently:

DSPCA DSPCA

By ‘encountered’ we mean the snake fell out of a hole in the man’s ceiling and onto his head while he stood on a ladder, and by ‘little’ we mean ‘huge’ – the animal is five feet long.

Fortunately, it isn’t poisonous. It’s a Rat Snake, and the DSPCA believe it was probably kept by the house’s previous tenants as a pet.

Once it had revealed itself, the snake was trapped under a box by the enterprising houseowner, before it made a break for it once more by hiding under some floorboards.

Finally recaptured, the snake is now making a recovery at the DSPCA shelter in Rathfarnham.

“The snake is rather thin which would lead us to think it has been loose for some time but it’s recovering well,” said the DSPCA’s Gillian Bird.

It is not uncommon for escaped snakes to live in ceiling spaces and wall cavities feeding on small mice and insects.

This is the time of the year we start getting calls such as these as the animals often sense the warming temperatures and start coming out to look for food.

So don’t be surprised if you see a thin, hungry looking snake on the lookout for food in your area.

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