The baby's father called his brother, as well as the RSPCA and local police, and the girl's uncle was able to arrive at the home in time to corral the snake and take it to a friend for safe storage in a terrarium until it could be collected by rescuers.
"The young royal python was very friendly so I was sure he was an escaped pet from a nearby home. I took him into our care but, thankfully, we were able to find his owner and return him," RSPCA animal collection officer Louis Horton said.
"It turns out he was called Gozer the Gozerian -- named after Ghostbusters -- and belonged to the family's neighbour. He'd been missing since May so it was nice to be able to return him home," he said.
Gozer's owner said the snake managed to push out an air vent in his terrarium and squeeze through the tiny hole to escape.
