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Our Latest Urban Nightmare: Snake Slithers Into Brooklyn Kitchen
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 29, 2014
Modified Aug 29, 2014
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original photo of troublesome snake via DNAInfo
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 29, 2014
Modified Aug 29, 2014
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We've gotten used to seeing snakes in the park, in our cabs, and on the subway—putting up with unsettling individuals in public spaces is a fact of NYC life. But the second they start passing the threshold of our homes is where we draw the line. Because the last thing we want to see when we start re-heating chinese leftovers is a snake in our kitchen.
Which is (mostly) what happened to a woman in Prospect-Lefferts Garden on Thursday. DNAInfo reports that a three-foot non-venomous pet corn snake escaped from its cage and slithered its way into a neighbors apartment at Rogers Avenue near Lefferts Avenue. "I just woke up and I wanted something under the sink,” said the woman who found the snake, who asked to remain anonymous, like for fear of retribution from the snake. "I wasn’t wearing my glasses, so I think something just dropped down, but [then] I see it moving. And I think ‘No, no, no.’ I opened it again and I say, ‘Yeah, it is’… and then I called the police."
The orange and yellow spotted snake is named Zen Tao, which is Chinese for "precious peach." Its owner has had it for more than 10 years, since they found it in a yard in Orlando, Florida before moving to NYC. The owner claims this is the first time Zen Tao has broken out.
"This is a free country. It’s their apartment," said the woman who found the snake in her kitchen. "But if you have a pet, you have to do the necessary thing." Technically speaking, corn snakes are allowed to be pets in NYC (although just about every other kind of snake is not). But we can't imagine ever letting one into our household...unless of course it's a Bathroom Cobra.
Have a great weekend, and remember to keep your toilet lid down so the rats don't crawl up through the pipes into your bathroom!
Tagged
bathroom snake
brooklyn
snake
snakes
zen tao
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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