Arizona homeowner surprised to find snake in toilet
A woman returning home from vacation got the fright of her life recently.
Michelle Lespron lives in Tucson, Arizona. She arrived back home after spending some time away and says she was shocked beyond belief when she went to the bathroom.
She looked inside her toilet and spotted a snake slithering around.
Lespron quickly closed the lid and then called for help. She was able to reach out to a local snake removal company.
"He's my hero, Nick at Rattlesnake Solutions is my absolute hero," Lespron
Rattlesnake Solutions saved the day after three solid attempts to retrieve the massive snake, known as a coachwhip.
"A coachwhip, some people call it a red racer but this one isn't red, it is a fast, intelligent snake, that does a lot of things. It eats rattlesnakes, it climbs trees, it climbs houses, it gets everywhere and does what it wants," Bryan Hughes, the owner of Rattlesnake Solutions, said.
Hughes says a snake in a toilet is quite rare.
"It's something that doesn't happen very much, and I know that I'm seeing a ton of comments on our social media about people ready to call their realtor and move to Alaska," Hughes said.
Even after the snake had been removed, Lespron was shaken and decided to use her home's other bathroom.
"I couldn't use that bathroom for three weeks even after he got it out; I actually had all my toiletries already packed from the trip I was on, I didn't even unpack my toiletries. I just moved everything to the other bathroom," Lespron said.
While this coachwhip was tough to catch, Hughes says homeowners really don't need to do much to prevent this from happening in their own homes.
"If they're going to come in it's because they came in from outside so if you're paying attention to the resources, the food, water, and shelter, that you are leaving outside for the snakes, rattlesnakes and otherwise, fewer outside is going to be fewer inside," he said.
However, Lespron is always sure to double-check her home now.
"I kept flushing my toilet before I'd even decide to sit down, I always turn my light on before I go to the restroom, toilet cover closed and my father put on screen you always want to put screens on the top of any openings on your roof so that snakes can't snakes and other animals can't worm their way through," she said.