SAN DIEGO (CNS) - This one gives a creepy new meaning to the term "plumber's snake."
San Diego animal control officers are caring for a 5 1/2-foot boa constrictor that showed up in a toilet at a Gaslamp District office, emerging from the drainpipe to the horror of workers.
Late Tuesday afternoon, an employee of a G Street marketing and public relations company notified the county Department of Animal Services about the reptile's shocking arrival via the sanitation system.
The woman reported that the snake had slithered from the plumbing while she was plunging the toilet due to an excess of water in the bowl, according to DAS officials. The dismayed employee fled and used adhesive tape to seal the door of the bathroom shut.
Animal control officers found the reptile on the floor of the lavatory and took it to their Gaines Street shelter for an examination.
If no one claims the Colombian rainbow boa -- which was underweight and in the process of shedding when discovered -- it will be turned over to a group that specializes in caring for abandoned reptiles, according to the animal services agency.