The safe intense orange snake was discovered on a Northern service taking a trip in between Shipley and Leeds on Saturday, with some reports stating the reptile had actually been identified in a bin onboard.
The five-foot (1.5 metres) reptile was eliminated from the train at Leeds station and put in an aerated cardboard box by staff, prior to being gathered by RSPCA animal rescue officer Katie Hetherington.
Now called ‘Noodles’ the snake is succeeding in the care of specialists at Reptilia in Ossett and will be rehomed if no owner steps forward.
It’s not understood how Noodles became on the train, although the reptile was a little underweight which might recommend the animal might have run out its routine enclosure for a long time.
Katie said: “The staff at the station were fantastic and had placed Noodles in a large cardboard box and they’d even put the heating on!
“Obviously coming face-to-face with a bright orange snake on a train would be an alarming sight for many people, but corn snakes like this one are completely harmless.
“We’re not really sure how and why the snake ended up on the train. It might have been abandoned or somehow escaped from captivity and slithered on board of its own accord, it really is a little bit of a mystery.
“As ever, our thanks go to the staff at Reptilia who will now make sure that this reptile receives the appropriate care and a new home if no owner comes forward.”
RSPCA senior clinical officer Evie Button said: “Snakes are excellent escape artists and will take the opportunity of a gap in an enclosure door, or a loose-fitting lid to make a break for it.
“Last year, we took more than one thousand reports about snakes, with the highest number of calls coming in during the summer months. This is not surprising, as snakes become more active during hot weather.
“The RSPCA urges all pet snake owners to be extra vigilant at this time of year, invest in an enclosure suitable for the particular species and make sure that enclosure is kept secure – and locked if necessary – when unattended.”
If anybody loses a snake there are a variety of lost and discovered family pet sites where information can be logged, consisting of Animal Search. It is possible to microchip snakes and the RSPCA would suggest that owners ask their exotics veterinarian to do this, so that snakes can be quickly reunited if lost and discovered.
