A man said he "s*** himself" after finding an "aggressive" snake in his kitchen while making breakfast.
Gavin said he accidentally knocked the exotic serpent on to his kitchen floor while coming down the stairs.
He heard a thud and "freaked out" when he saw the angry reptile writhing on his floor in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
He let his partner Rosie handle the suspected escaped pet corn snake.
The HertfordshireMercury spoke to Gavin following the unwelcome visit to their home on Wednesday.
Gavin said: "I come from Sydney but I grew up in the city so I'm no Steve Irwin and when I saw it I s*** myself."
He said he was walking downstairs in the morning for breakfast and as he got to the kitchen he heard a thud.
He then turned around and noticed a snake writhing on the floor.
It turns out the snake had been sat on the stairs and Gavin had accidentally knocked it into the kitchen.
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He did this unknowingly – and the snake was completely fine.
He described the snake as "quite aggressive", but Gavin kept well away.
In the UK it's common to keep exotic pets such as snakes, spiders and other reptiles.
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But occasionally they can escape and are often found in homes or gardens.
Based on what Gavin and his partner found out, this was likely a corn snake and while not native to the UK like adders or grass snakes, they are often the go-to pet snake which is available from a variety of pet stores.
Trying to work out where it had come from, Gavin said: "We have several theories, either our neighbour is breeding them or it's escaped from somebody's home."
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Gavin's partner Rosie did all the handling of the snake, mainly because it "freaked" Gavin out – which is understandable.
Rosie and Gavin spoke to several pet shops but were told that because they don't often deal with exotic animals they should contact the RSPCA.
After speaking with the RSPCA, the snake was taken to Oaklands College which has a habitat centre attached as part of the animal management courses available there.
Under the advice of Oaklands, Gavin and Rosie took the snake to the college in a pillowcase and it eventually found a new home when some people came to take him in.
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