I slapped the alarm a couple of times, threw back the covers, lifted my legs to gather up momentum and flung out of bed. The plan was to get ready and leave a few minutes early so I could dash into the store for a few things before going to work.
I gathered my stuff, walked down the hallway and turned to open the door. That’s when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. It couldn’t be! The hallway was dim so maybe what I thought I saw wasn’t what I saw at all. I dared glance again and sure enough – that was a snake.
What? A snake! I stepped out of the house and closed the door quickly. Now, what was I to do? Ah ha! I called my son-in-law. “Hey, I need your assistance NOW! I’m in the garage. Get down here NOW!” I buzzed my husband and he didn’t answer. About that time my son-in-law pulled up. “What’s the matter?” “There’s a snake in my house.” “Where?” “In the hall.” “How did it get in the house?” “I don’t know, but I don’t want it there.” “Okay, come on.”
I opened the door and peeked in. “It’s gone. Wait, there’s its tail going in the bathroom.” On the way in, my son-in-law had grabbed a stick. He was trying to decide how to get the snake. He said, “What is it?” I’m pretty sure that’s not exactly what he meant. “It’s a snake and I don’t want it in my house.” He poked at it. I said, “Stop. I need to take a picture.” Soon the snake was curled around the stick and they were both headed out the door.
After a few more snaps with my phone, he carried the snake down the driveway. He didn’t like my suggestion as to what to do with the snake. The little slithery serpent fell off the stick and coiled up. I said, “Just leave it there. If it doesn’t move, I’ll just run over it on my way out the driveway.” How could he even suggest that my unwanted visitor should live? I waved my arms and hollered from the garage, “I can jump out of airplanes and swing from cliffs – but I don’t do snakes!
As the snake handler got ready to leave, he said, “I expected to find you had fallen and broke a leg or gotten cut and was bleeding or something.” My response was, “Do you think I’d call you for that?”
When I got in the car, it felt like beady little eyes were watching me from under the seat. What if there was something attached to those beady little eyes, waiting to curl around my ankles? One thing came to mind, “I should go in the house and put on my snake boots. Hmmm, maybe not – there might be another one of those slimy critters in the hall.”
If any of you need ophidian removal services, I might know a good snake handler and believe me, he’ll add a prayer.
I sent the picture to my husband and the wildlife management expert.
It was identified as a Grey Rat Snake