While maintaining the nature strips in an Adelaide suburb last week, a council worker came across a tragic sight by the side of a road. Among scraps of rubbish and tucked beneath a cluster of trees was an old pillowcase that was tied shut at one end and appeared to be moving.
The worker from the City of Salisbury soon realised the bag was "hissing", and quickly put in a call to local snake catcher Brett Cottle. Inside the bag was a two-metre long carpet python, which Brett suspects had been a pet.
"It had been there at least a couple of days," he told Yahoo News. "The bag was wet, it'd been raining the previous day, so it's likely at least a day or two it had been sitting there, possibly longer."
Thankfully, the snake appeared to be well-fed, healthy and in good condition -- but any longer out in the elements would have resulted in a very different outcome.
"If it had been left there any longer, it probably would have just cooked in the sun," Brett said.
"It's disgusting. It's atrocious. There are other means of going about it if you can't look after it. You don't have to let it potentially die on the side of the road to a slow death.
"They aren't just a piece of trash that people can discard."
The python has since undergone a vet check and will be taken to Cleland Wildlife Park to be assessed to see if it is suitable to be rehomed. If it is, it's likely the snake will find a new home at a wildlife park or a zoo.
Warning as Christmas sparks fears of more animal dumpings
With Christmas just weeks away, Brett fears it could spark a wave of more animals being dumped or surrendered. He urged people to "do your research" before purchasing a new pet.
"It might not necessarily happen straight away, but reptiles get given as presents for kids. They might like them for a couple of months, be interested and then just lose interest altogether," he said.
"A snake, like the one I found, could potentially live for 40 years. Know exactly what you're getting into, go and talk to pet shops or breeders or stuff like that, and get plenty of advice beforehand."
Anyone who feels they can no longer care for an animal is urged to surrender them to an animal shelter or wildlife park instead of dumping them.
Unfortunately, it's not just reptiles who have been neglected on South Australian roads.
At the end of September, a kitten was found dumped in a carrier in the middle of a road just 12 hours after being adopted. In June, three puppies were dumped in a car park in the suburb of Marleston. Each was suffering from a severe skin condition that required emergency treatment.
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