A DUBLIN man received the shock of his life this week after discovering a four-foot snake slithering through his back garden.
While Ireland’s reintroduced lockdown restrictions are difficult enough, Dun Laoghaire resident Doug Keatinge endured an extra level of stress after coming across a python nestled in among his pot plants.
Taking a picture of the rogue reptile, Keatinge turned to Twitter for help.
Sharing an image of the offending intruder on social media, the Dubliner asked: "Snake in my garden. Panic! What to do?"
Thankfully, people across Twitter were only too happy to help, with one follower successfully identifying the snake as a ball python.
A species native to west and central Africa, the ball python gets its name from its tendency to curl into a ball when either stressed or frightened.
The smallest of all the African pythons, snakes of this kind are capable of growing up to 182cm in length.
Snake in my garden. Panic! What to do? pic.twitter.com/GNkRawjNjV
— Douglas Keatinge (@dougkeatinge) August 18, 2020
Crucially, they are nonvenomous – something Keatinge’s followers were quick to point out.
The story has a happy ending too.
It later emerged that the snake belonged to a next door neighbour and had gone missing several months back with her owner fearing the worst.
"Apparently she’s harmless and has been missing for a month. Eats mice!” Keatinge revealed on Twitter.
The pet snake, called Mona Lisa, has since been reunited with her owner in a conclusion that has left everyone smiling – especially Keatinge.
