Woman Comes Face-to-Face with Snake After Hearing Strange Noise in Car Hood

A snake was found in a very strange location after a woman heard noises coming from her car.

Saira Ahmed, from Bristol in the U.K, found a corn snake poking its head out of the grille on the hood of her car on Monday, during one of the hottest weeks of the year.

"When I started my car, I had been hearing this really weird noise like a screw had fallen out or something. I said to my partner Justin we need to get my car looked at," Ahmed told local paper the Bristol Post.

After running some errands, she found the unusual reptile peeking out of the front of her car.

"There was a tiny head sticking out, then it went back in. I was ready to go to a B&B for the night," she said. "I left my car there and walked home. My partner said he would pick my car up and when he got there, there was the head again."

The snake turned out to be a corn snake, which is native to the U.S. These snakes can grow to lengths of up to 6 feet long, but are usually smaller. They have orange-and-brown-patterned scales, leading to their alternative name: the red rat snake. These snakes are non-venomous and instead kill their prey via constriction.

In a video she posted to Facebook, Ahmed can be heard saying: "Guys, I'm going to burn my car, I'm done. Because: there's a snake in my car! What do I do? What do I do?! Where did it come from?"

Ahmed had a long-winded ordeal getting the snake removed, initially driving the car to a reptile shop, but by that time, the snake had retreated back into the car's hood. She then tried to call the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), which advised her to contact a mechanic to remove the snake, but upon doing so, the mechanic didn't want to go near the reptile.

Eventually, Ahmed managed to lure the snake out using a tasty treat.

"I went on to Facebook and found a lady who loves snakes. She came round with a dead mouse in a frozen packet, which she put on the grille," she said.

The snake then slithered out onto the car and was rescued.

"This snake was about 2-and-a-half foot. Corn snakes are non-venomous and only generally bite if they are scared," Sian Fish, a snake keeper who helped Ahmed remove the snake after seeing her plea on Facebook, told the Bristol Post.

Fish said that it was likely the snake had initially entered the engine cavity looking for warmth on a cooler night, and then attempted to leave during this week's heat wave.

The temperatures have risen in the U.K. this week, reaching up to 82 degrees F on Tuesday in Bristol.

"When it stuck its head out, it was probably looking for water as it's been quite hot. When it ducked back in, we opened the bonnet of the car and I coaxed it out, grabbing the tail," said Fish.

Corn snakes are often kept as pets, so this motor enthusiast was likely released or escaped from a nearby home.

"It's not a British snake. Since the high energy costs in the run-up to Christmas, a lot of snakes are being released. It probably was in the engine for warmth," Fish said.

The RSPCA advises that corn snake owners should keep the snakes in a vivarium that allows them to stretch out to their full lengths, and keep the temperature warm enough for the cold-blooded reptile to be comfortable.

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