Boy, 5, finds python inside toilet at family's home

Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A British mother said the mystery of her home's clogged toilet was solved when her 5-year-old son lifted the toilet seat and came face to face with a 3-foot python.

Laura Cowell of Southend, in England's Essex county, said the commode had been having clogging problems for several days before her young son discovered the snake in the toilet bowl.

"He was frantic, and shaking, and I could tell something was wrong, but that was not what I expected," Cowell told the BBC. "I had to use a broom handle to lift the lid, then out popped its head and its tongue came out as well."

Cowell contacted Scales and Fangs pet shop, which sent Ethan Pinion to remove the serpent.

"It smelt of bleach and a bit toilet-y," Pinion said.

Rob Yeldham, owner of Scales and Fangs, said the royal python was found to be an escaped pet named Reggie. He said the snake's owner said Reggie had been missing for about two months.

"The owner moved into his house two months ago. As he lifted the snake's vivarium into the house, the air vent became loose and Reggie managed to knock the vent off during the night and escaped," Yeldham told The Echo. "Snakes become active during the night and when he escaped he worked his way up to the air vents of the building. He must have taken the wrong turn and ended up in the sewage system of the lady's house and wandered his way into the toilet."