Snake slithers into woman's SUV, sheds skin and escapes capture

A Texas teacher has left her SUV parked in the same spot for days after she found a 2.5-foot rat snake slithering through it earlier this week.

Philana Williams spotted the snake in the back seat of her Mitsubishi Montero Tuesday evening, the Denton Record Chronicle reported. She quickly grabbed her toddler out of an infant car seat and sought help from police at a nearby station.

“It’s just so nerve-racking to think (the snake) could have bit me while I was driving, or he could have bit my baby,” Williams told the Denton Record Chronicle.

Animal control officer Humberto Vega responded to the scene and attempted to wrangle the irritated snake. After two hours, it shed its skin and escaped, according to KXAS.

The snake likely got into the SUV through an opening in the bottom of the Montero and may have been attracted by food crumbs in the back seat, Vega told the Denton Record Chronicle. Speaking with KXAS, he added that the snake was likely looking for a place to hide from the heat and appeared to escape into the SUV’s frame.

The Texas rat snake typically eats rodents and birds. It is not venomous.

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