So GuyRoommate and I get home from our soccer game and GirlRoommate rushes downstairs to meet us, telling us to head down to the basement, she has something to show us. Yep, a snake caught in the netting for her plants. At first we didn't realize how badly he was stuck. I thought he was just rolled up in the netting, but no, he had slithered through the actual holes in the net, trapping himself.
First GuyRoommate, before realizing how badly trapped the snake was, just tried to shake the netting to free him. Then after realizing he was trapped, GuyRoommate requested scissors. He made a few snips in the netting before wondering, what type of snake is this? Is he poisonous? I came inside and started to Google snakes. Then I decided to call one of my soccer teammates. Teammate is somewhat of a Renaissance man - he knows a bit about everything, including gardening and the like. He didn't answer, but his wife did. She's a country girl, so I explained our predicament. After chatting and web searching, we all agreed it was a rat snake. Not poisonous, but if he does bite you may feel a bit sick.
In the beginning, GuyRoommate did most of the work. He snipped away at the netting while GirlRoommate jumped and shrieked while I chatted on the phone. I don't know what possessed me, as I was terrified, but I decided I needed to help.
It's hard to tell, but in the bottom picture that's my bare hand using kitchen shears to cut away the net. At one point GuyRoommate asked why I was leaning over his leg to cut, and he laughed realizing it was my way of keeping something - anything - between me and that snake.
I was so worried I'd cut the snake. It was hard to slide the blade of the shears between the skin of the snake and the tight netting wrapped around his body. We did eventually free him of the vast majority of the netting. As best as I could tell, there was only one loop left on him when he slithered away.
For as scared as I was, I felt bad for the snake. He was trapped, and he would surely die if we didn't help him. As soon as I was finished, I turned to go back in the house, and I could feel tears welling in my eyes. I was so stressed, so scared, so nervous, and it was all finally over. I think I managed to safely remove the net without cutting the snake. As I was also happy that the few times I did jump, I didn't stab anyone (aka GuyRoommate) in the face with scissors.
** Oh how funny! Right before I hit publish on this, my cousin sent a picture of a snake that's been hanging out at his place. That guy even climbs brick walls! They named him Pete. I was gonna name our snake Pete!
***Oh, and another thing. We trimmed up the netting and swept up the mess we made, hoping that no other critters will become trapped. As I was taking out the trash, a roach ran past me. Really!? Haven't I been through enough?!
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