Wales: Family ‘terrified’ after finding ‘ghost snake’ in garden | British News
When little Cory told his mother that he had seen a snake, she thought he was just telling stories.
Kelsie Cox assumed it was a toy lying around that caused her son’s panic.
However, her husband Shaun soon broke the news that Cory had indeed found a very real reptile.
The albino snake had been crawling around outside in the garden, much to the shock of the family.
Cory and sister Phoebe watched as their father took pictures, got the snake and put it in a box.
Kelsie, who is afraid of snakes, had made herself scarce during the rescue.
Shaun and Cory had come across the ghostly, 4-foot-long animal while returning to their home on Prestatyn High Street in the coastal town of Denbighshire, Wales.
Kelsie told North Wales Live: “It was in the back garden just lying in the sun.”
“When Cory ran in and said he found a snake, I thought it was fake. I’m terrified of snakes – I’m not up close, but my kids loved it. “I left Shaun to take care of me while I shared a photo on social media.”
The mother of two children wasn’t the only one who felt a slight queasy feeling.
When a local woman saw Kelsie’s post, she said: “I think I would have died if I had stumbled across it on the High Street.”
A man expressed similar feelings. “If I saw that, I’d be the first man to walk on Mars,” he shuddered.
It soon turned out that the albino snake was actually a non-venomous corn snake. It is believed to be a “Snow” morph as it showed evidence of orange-yellow pigmentation.
When no one answered to retrieve the snake, Kelsie contacted the Idlewild Animal Sanctuary in the Conwy Valley.
It not only provides recovery for rescued birds and livestock, but also rehabilitates injured and sick animals and brings others to new homes.
After taking care of the corn snake, sanctuary manager Kim Barton-Jones said she was “definitely hungry.”
She told North Wales Live: “The poor snake made short work of the food.”
Cats and chickens are being housed more frequently by Idlewild, although the shelter applied for new homes for 56 mice earlier this year. Snakes are a relative rarity, although a 4-foot boa constrictor was volunteered into their care last month.
So far no one has offered him a new home. “Not many people have the right facilities for a boa constrictor,” Kim said.
The owner of the Prestatyn albino corn snake has also not been identified. You have seven days to report and provide proof of ownership such as photos and vet references.
If the owner cannot be located, the snake will be offered to those experienced in reptile care.
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