A Texas woman is recalling a “very scary situation” that recently took place in her bathroom involving a reptile.
Maria Jaimes of Cedar Creek revealed to NBC affiliate KXAN that a rat snake bit her in the leg just as she sat down while using the bathroom in the dark earlier this month.
As Jaimes recalled, she woke up early in the morning around 4:30 a.m. local time, walked to her bathroom, didn’t flip on the light switch and was quickly bit by the creature.
“I felt a little poke on my leg and I said, ‘Something happened, my husband left something on the toilet.’ So I then turn on the light and I see that there’s a snake under my toilet,” she told KXAN.
Jaimes detailed that she even has the photos to prove it happened, telling the outlet, “As scared as I was when this happened, I am the one who took these pictures because no one would believe it.”
Black rat snake curls up on a tree in Maryland.
Getty
In the photos, the reptile can be seen coiled underneath her toilet seat and later on the floor of her bathroom.
According to Jaimes, after she alerted her husband about the snake in their bathroom, he placed wire on a vent on the roof to prevent any other unwelcome guests from making surprise appearances near the toilet.
“It does happen, and I just want people to be aware of their vents and what might come in through their toilet or sink,” Jaimes told KXAN.
And, despite her snake bite, Jaimes didn’t let it interfere with her plans just hours later. “I still went to church,” she said, smiling. “I got up and went to church.”
Alan Brown, the technical director at ABC Home and Commercial Services, who KXAN referred to as a “pest control expert,” said that snakes appearing through a toilet is an “infrequent occurrence.”
“In 25 years of pest control, I have never dealt directly with it or had anybody that I know of deal with it,” Brown said. “I think its more of an urban legend most of the time but it does happen.”
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the state has the highest number of snake species and subspecies in the United States, with 115 types in total.
Texans looking to keep the reptiles out of their homes are encouraged to “seal off all entry points,” including “openings around water pipes, electrical outlets, doors and windows,” per the organization.
Mortar can be used to seal holes in masonry foundations around the home, while hardware cloth or sheet metal is ideal for wooden buildings or siding, Texas Parks and Wildlife added.
