A WOMAN with a snake phobia was horrified when she found a California kingsnake in her cutlery drawer at her Edinburgh home.
The woman, who has not been named, put her hand into the drawer to get forks and knives for dinner in her flat kitchen and discovered the 2ft-long reptile curled up on top of the cutlery.
The resident of Lindsay Road in Leith was so terrified she called a friend before alerting an animal welfare charity. By the time the Scottish SPCA turned up the creature, more common in the south western United States, had escaped from the drawer.
Animal rescue officers found the snake, now named Zak, hiding in a cupboard. He was then taken back to their animal rescue and rehoming centre in Balerno.
The SSPCA's Fiona Thorburn said: “The lady was just about to have her dinner and got a real fright when she reached into the cutlery drawer and found Zak curled up on the knives and forks. As she has a phobia of snakes, she called her friend for help to contain him, only to discover that he had disappeared from the drawer.
“Thankfully he was located in a cupboard in the kitchen before he sneaked away. Zak is quite large for an escapee and it’s usually smaller snakes that can squeeze through pipework in flats. However, all snakes are really good escape artists so there’s every chance Zak has an owner nearby who is looking for him.”
Anyone who recognises Zak should call the SSPCA animal helpline on 03000 999 999.
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