KUALA PILAH: A family of three had a fright when a 15kg reticulated python fell through the ceiling of their house, and then slithered into the bathroom.
District Civil Defence Department officer Lt Mohamad Ghazali Abd Rahim said his team received a distress call from the family at 9.50am on Thursday.
He said a three-man team was immediately dispatched to the Rumah Rakyat Padang Lebar housing scheme in Batu Kikir to help catch the reptile.
“When my men reached there, they were told that the snake had slithered into the bathroom.
“The occupants had quickly closed the bathroom door to prevent the snake from escaping,” he said.
A short while later, the team managed to capture the snake, which was found partially coiled on the bathroom mirror.
Lt Mohamad Ghazali said the snake was taken to the department’s operations centre and then handed over to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
The reticulated python is protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the reticulated python is said to be the longest snake in the world.
The longest reticulated python ever recorded, according to reports, measured at 10m.
Reticulated pythons only breed every two to four years, and it can lay at least 50 to 100 eggs in a single clutch.
Earlier this month, the Fire and Rescue Department captured 29 baby reticulated pythons in a drain in Shah Alam, Selangor.
Last year, the department caught 26 snakes in the same area.