Today in New York nightmares, a 4-foot snake slithered out of a Staten Island man's toilet Tuesday morning.
SI Live reports Allen Shepard went to the loo in his Graniteville apartment at 6:30 AM and started to brush his teeth when he glanced over at something moving in the toilet bowl, only to see a California Kingsnake staring back at him.
"I came out [of the bathroom] and closed the door and I got a broom. The snake was getting up on top of the rim, ready to strike," Shepard said.
The hissing reptile attacked the broom and wouldn't let go.
Unsure what to do, Shepard called his super, who in turn called who called Kenneth Rosenthal, the owner of the Mariners Harbor-based 1-800-CLOGGED Response Service Group.
"I grabbed the piece that was sticking out and I pulled on him gently, and he wasn't going nowhere," Rosenthal told WINS. "I pulled a little more, and I kept a steady pull on him, and it kept coming out. I said, 'When is this thing going to end?' I already had about 2.5 feet of him out."
Eventually Rosenthal was able to get the snake in a cooler and neighbor volunteered to bring the snake to a sanctuary in Manhattan.
California Kingsnakes are non-venomous and it's likely that it was an escaped pet in the apartment complex.
But be afraid New Yorkers, be very afraid, this is not the first time this has happened (also, rats).
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this piece mentioned the event happened Monday morning. It has been corrected to reflect that the event happened on Tuesday.