Ball pythons are native to Africa
Georgia couple find 4-foot ball python outside home
The Atlanta couple and an animal welfare group are trying to coax the snake, native to Africa, out of the yard.
A Georgia couple got a scary surprise recently after they discovered a 4-foot ball python living in their front yard.
"Definitely was not expecting a python, I was like that definitely doesn’t belong there," homeowner Ellen Snyder said of unwanted guest at their suburban Atlanta home.
While the snake isn’t venomous, Snyder and her husband Igor Malenky are concerned about its welfare since its native to West Africa and may not be able to handle colder temperatures.
"Initially it was a little bit of fear," Malenky told FOX 5 of discovering the snake slithering down his front porch steps. "I find a great big snake right outside my front door."
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The couple is trying to coax the python out of their front yard. (FOX 5)
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Their neighbor, Anna Turkett, who is a snake lover, said the python "is not dangerous to people, it’s not dangerous to pets." That had been one of the couple’s fears when they at first couldn’t find their cat, who was eventually discovered hiding under a blanket.
Turkett has left food for the snake in an attempt to coax it out of its hole and the couple brought in the animal welfare group aware who left a space heater as an enticement – but, so far, to no avail.
"I just want it to have a home where it’s safe," Snyder added.
