A 1.07-metre long ball python is recovering in the care of the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society after being found by a worker at a sewage plant in east Windsor.

The discovery of the snake was made on Friday by Jeff Miller, the chief operator at the Little River Pollution Control Plant. It was first spotted on the plant’s inlet screens, nearly 7.6 metres below ground, before getting into a collection bin and trying to climb to safety.

Ed Valdez, the executive director of pollution control at the City of Windsor, said Miller was carrying out his duties when he found the snake in one of the “rag bins” where the first set of cleaning happens.

“He was going through that area of the plant and he looked inside the bin and low and behold there was the snake,” Valdez told CBC Windsor on Monday. 

“It was very fortunate that it probably climbed all the way up itself. It did not go through the machinery.”

Python likely escaped somebody’s house

Valdez said the area is frequently inspected, so he doesn’t believe the snake had been there for long. 

“How long it had been in the sewer system, that’s another question, or where it came from, that’s a whole new question,” he said. 

Valdez believes the python escaped somebody’s house through a window or through a doggy door and went into a curb catch basin.

The female reptile is more than likely three to five years old, according to Lynnette Bain, the executive director of the local humane society.

“She was a little worse for wear after … making her way through all those small spaces,” Bain said, adding she’s expected to make a fully recovery.

“She definitely had some nicks and a little stressed out, but she’s made her way here [and] have a a really good habitat and enclosure here. So, she’s under medical treatment and recovering … we’re trying to help her to shed … she’s just been dehydrated.” 

According to Bain, the snake’s body condition is not ideal and they’re trying to keep her warm.

“We’re soaking her daily for 20 minutes to help her to shed.”

Over the years, staff at the plant have recovered many animals from the screening system, according a humane society statement, but snakes unfortunately don’t often survive the experience. 

How did the snake end up in the sewer?

Was the python flushed down the toilet? Bain says it’s impossible to know for sure, but it’s definitely possible.

“That’s what we’re guessing. Or it could have escaped through … tiny spaces. It’s possible they were flushed, but it’s also possible they got outside, right? They could have escaped the home and got into some kind of a sewer pipe somewhere outside as well and then made their way down that way.”

While she doesn’t want to assume anything in this case, Bain says she hopes exotic pet owners wouldn’t release them into the normal environment.

“They don’t have the tools they need to survive. They don’t have the proper habitat. That’s always a good reminder for people that they can … utilize an organization like us to help them in a situation like this.”

Bain says where the snake will eventually end up is unclear at this time.

“It’s up to us to take care of her. A snake can’t be adopted in the City of Windsor. So, we wouldn’t be advertising it in the City of Windsor if and when it comes up for adoption,” Bain said.

“But there are people in the surrounding area that are very familiar with snakes and ball pythons in particular, so sometimes we reach out to them first to see if there’s any interest in them and then taking them on.”