No thanks!
A man has spoken of his shock when he discovered a four foot snake slithering around a back garden in Dun Laoghaire, Co.Dublin.
Doug Keatinge found the ball python, which originates from Africa, among plants in yesterday afternoon.
It turned out it was a pet reptile, named Mona Lisa, that belongs to a neighbour of Doug's, and had been missing for a month.
When he came across the slippery serpent, Doug said he got a major shock when he saw the reptile.
''My wife said that maybe it belongs to someone round here, maybe we should knock on a few doors'', he aid.
''And it turned out that it was from a nearby neighbour, who greatly reclaimed their snake''.
''Apparently it's harmless, but I wont say it looked harmless''.
Despite still being able to grow to lengths of 182cm, the nonvenomous constrictor is the smallest of the African pythons.
The name 'ball python' refers to its tendency to curl into a ball when stressed or frightened.
