Snake in a toilet: Slithering visitor to Arizona home camps out where homeowner least expects it
Like a scene out of a horror movie, Michelle Lespron returned to her Tucson, Arizona, home to find a snake camped out in her toilet
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Like a scene out of a horror movie, Michelle Lespron returned to her Tucson, Arizona, home to find a snake had set up camp in her toilet.
“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.”
The hiss-sterical encounter happened July 15. But Lespron has been getting messages from family, friends and even people she went to high school with since Rattlesnake Solutions, a Phoenix-based company that removed the snake, recently posted an employee's video.
The 20-second video shows the snake being pulled out of the toilet bowl and then hissing straight at the camera.
“Everybody has the same reaction: Oh my god that’s my worst nightmare,” she said.
Other people thought it was a prank video and the snake was a prop. “Even my law partner was like ‘Ha ha. Nice gag,’” Lespron, a personal injury attorney, said.
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.
The handler later released the snake, which measured between 3 feet (1 meter) and 4 feet (1.2 meters) long, in a natural habitat elsewhere.
Bryan Hughes, the owner of Rattlesnake Solutions, said it wasn't the first time his staff have seen a coachwhip snake in a home though it's rare to find reptiles in residences.
Fortunately for Lespron, the species is non-venomous. Still, she was taking no chances.
After her reptile run-in, Lespron used her guest bathroom for three weeks before feeling comfortable enough to go back to her own. And she no longer enters the bathroom in the dark, and always lifts the lid ever so slowly.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.