A couple cleaning out their basement apartment in Holbrook that had just recently been vacated found a three-foot long snake—actually a Ball Python—hiding under the cushions of a couch on Monday, officials said.
The startled couple called the Town of Brookhaven Holtsville Ecology Center, which alerted the Suffolk County SPCA.
The snake apparently belonged to the former occupant of the basement apartment, and it was going to be cared for by the upstairs tenant, the Suffolk SPCA said.
Ball Pythons are legal to own and no charges have been filed.
The discovery comes one week after an Islip teen and a Yaphank man were both bitten by reptiles.
In Islip, the teen was bitten after trying to grab a King Snake that his mother found near their pool. King Snakes are not venomous, but their bites are painful, the Suffolk SPCA said.
In Yaphank, a man was bitten by a baby alligator that was abandoned near his backyard.
“We had 20 alligators last year plus other reptiles. It’s a crime to abandon reptiles and animals”, Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross said.
Gross said residents should never try to handle dangerous reptiles discovered in the wild.
Anyone who sees an abandoned reptile should instead call the Suffolk County SPCA at 631-382-7722, he said. All calls are confidential.
