Arizona woman discovers snake in worst possible place in her home
A pink coachwhip snake was residing in the Arizona woman's toilet
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Arizona woman came home to a slithering surprise when she found a huge black snake chilling out in her toilet.
The nightmarish encounter happened July 15, when Michelle Lespron returned to her home in Tucson, Arizona, after a short trip.
"I’d been gone for four days and was looking forward to using my own restroom in peace. I lifted up the lid and he or she was curled up," Lespron told the Associated Press. "Thank God the lid was closed."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She called Phoenix-based pest control company Rattlesnake Solutions to come and remove the snake, and the employee who serviced her house took video of the snake.
This photo provided by Phoenix-based Rattlesnake Solutions shows one of their employees holding a coachwhip snake found inside a toilet in a home in Tucson, Ariz., on July 16, 2023. (Nikolaus Kemme/Rattlesnake Solutions via AP)
The 20-second viral clip shows the snake being pulled out of the toilet bowl and handled by the employee. At one point it appears to bite the employee's hand and even hisses at the camera.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lespron said she's received a flood of messages from family, friends and even people she went to high school with since Rattlesnake Solutions posted the video.
"Everybody has the same reaction: Oh my god that’s my worst nightmare," she told the Associated Press.
Some people thought the video was a prank. "Even my law partner was like ‘Ha ha. Nice gag,’" said Lespron, a personal injury attorney.
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The employee grabbed the snake with their bare hands and lifted it out of the toilet. (Jam Press)
Lespron says her father tried to wrangle the snake that same night, but it slithered away. So, she called Rattlesnake Solutions the next morning.
It took the handler — who Lespron calls "my hero" — three tries to get the black and pink coachwhip snake firmly in his grasp. He was able to wrestle the snake with one hand while capturing it all on his cellphone with the other.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The snake was measured between 3 feet and 4 feet long. The handler released it into a natural habitat away from the home.
Bryan Hughes, the owner of Rattlesnake Solutions, said this wasn't the first time his staff have seen a coachwhip snake wind its way into someone's home. Still, he said it's rare to find a reptile inside residences.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The snake, mildly inconvenienced, hissed at the camera. (Jam Press)
Coachwhips are slender, smooth-scaled and fast-moving snakes that make their homes in deserts in the southwestern United States. They prefer to live in scrubland, mesquite dune habitats and grassland, according to the Tuscon Herpetological Society.
The good news for Lespron was the coachwhip is non-venomous. Still, her unexpected and unwanted visitor left a lasting impact.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lespron said she refused to use her main bathroom for three weeks before she felt comfortable enough to return. And now she won't use the bathroom in the dark and always checks under the lid before sitting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.