Someone apparently dumped an adult ball python in Chabot Regional Park in Castro Valley, and park officials are scrambling to find it, because the cold-blooded critter is unlikely to survive the chilly nighttime temperatures.

One of the frustrating habits that people have picked up during the pandemic has been getting pets for companionship and then just flat-out abandoning them, a phenomenon animal care professionals call “owner surrenders.” To abandon them in the wild is particularly cruel, especially when the animal is cold-blooded and needs a humid environment. That’s the case with an abandoned pet who’s got officials worried, as a ball python that was abandoned in Castro Valley’s Chabot Regional Park, and the Chronicle reports that park officials are rushing to find the snake while it's still alive and hissing.

The snake poses little risk to people, as pythons are not venomous. But this variety of python is ill-equipped to survive low temperatures. “We’re pulling for him because he’s very very cold,” park supervisor Sarah Motley told the Chronicle. “We hope he found a hole and is able to keep warm.”

A parkgoer noticed and photographed the snake, which is large enough that officials figure it is an adult. But in low temperatures, even an adult snake is going to have trouble hacking it in the wild.

“A snake’s metabolism is solely dependent on heat,” an East Bay Vivarium employee named Jarach told the Chronicle. “The chances are probably pretty low that it’s going to survive that long. Depending on its size, its ability to find food is going to be very limited.”

If you’ve got a pet you can no longer care for, you can contact SF Animal Care and Control here in San Francisco for advice, and there are SPCA chapters in San Francisco, the East Bay, and the Peninsula. Don’t just leave the poor thing to die in a park!

Related: The Bay Area's Bus Riding Python Can Be Yours [SFist]

Image: Mokele via Wikimedia Commons

San Francisco garter snakes — one of the rarest, arguably most breathtaking reptiles in the United States — were once thought to number as little as a thousand examples in the wild; some 1,300 more are now believed to exist on a 180-acre parcel of wetlands near SFO.

Climate change continues to exist as the single biggest threat to biodiversity. The very survivability of our planet teeters on how we humans, the dominant species on this space rock, decide to address the pressing environmental catastrophe — one already dwindling the populations of some Bay Area flora and fauna. In a spat of good news, however, a recent study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service showed that the small plot of land near the San Francisco airport could hold as many as 1,300 more San Francisco garter snakes — essentially more than doubling their current observed population count and the largest concentration of these limbless ectotherms found to date.

Per KTVU, the thousand-plus mesmeric serpents reside near the airport's West-of-Bayshore private property, located across the highway from the airport's terminal complex. The area, itself, is ideal habitat for the endangered reptiles, which thrive in both riparian wetlands and marshes where they can hunt their prey of choice: amphibians and small invertebrates, like slugs and certain freshwater crustaceans. Not-so-coincidentally enough, the slice of San Francisco the snakes were discovered on also houses steady numbers of the threatened California red-legged frog — a staple part of their diet, the two species often existing in tandem as markers for the health of environments they occupy.

"These results validate the environmental stewardship programs we have in place to ensure endangered species can survive and thrive at SFO (San Francisco/Oakland)," SFO wildlife biologist Natalie Reeder in a press release.

Because of the presence of these federally protected snakes, human manipulation of the land is strictly prohibited. But an annual visit by goats for fire prevention is still expected to occur before the year's end.

Related: Record Heat Is Bringing Out Snakes (Watch Out!) [2016]

Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Wow! Python snake found on @VTA bus last month now up for adoption at @PeninsulaHumane in #Burlingame. His name? #Rumplesnakeskin! #BayArea pic.twitter.com/mhoKAlqYSk

— Chris Nguyen ABC7 (@ChrisNguyenTV) October 24, 2017

A Samuel L. Jackson-worthy tale of squamate bus adventure is approaching a happy ending this week, as a snake that terrified passengers of a Bay Area bus is now ready for a new forever home.

The ball python, which has since been named "Rumplesnakeskin," was discovered on a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus on September 27, ABC 7 reports.

Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA spokesperson Buffy Martin Tarbox tells ABC that "No one is quite certain how the snake ended up on the bus," which was passing through Palo Alto at the time of the incident.

According to SF Gate, "After the scaled creature was spotted, the driver pulled over at the Encinal and El Camino Real stop in Palo Alto and asked passengers to disembark."

An animal control officer picked up the snake and took it to Palo Alto Animal Services, where it was held for nine days in hopes that it might be claimed by its guardian.

The two-foot-long snake, which news organizations identify as "he," is now at the PHS/SPCA. And though he's not on their available "exotic animals" page yet, Tarbox says he's now looking for a new family.

According to Wikipedia, ball pythons are non-venomous constrictors that are named as such because they "curl into a ball when stressed or frightened." They're the smallest of the African pythons (average length is 3-4.5 feet), making them a popular pet.

"Rumplesnakeskin is a very friendly snake and likes to be held," Tarbox tells ABC 7. "It is clear he was someone's pet, but no one came forward to claim him so he's now looking for a new permanent home."

Does a look at Rumplesnakeskin stir your heart? If so, you can meet him at the PHS/SPCA's Center for Compassion (1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame) on Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.- 7 p.m., or between 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday. And if you adopt him, you'd better send us pictures!

Related: Portland Python Thief Shoves Snake Down His Pants

The San Francisco Zoo opened a new exhibit this weekend, and already a venomous snake has gone missing. Don't worry, it's not that dangerous.

On Friday, zookeepers said a small snake known as the Baron's green racer escaped from its enclosure in the new South American Tropical Rainforest and Aviary, just a day before the exhibit's grand opening. While it's possible the snake is simply hiding, zookeepers have already taken apart its case and found nothing. They say it likely has escaped and became another animal's meal. "This one is pretty small, and that is why it most likely became prey for another animal." zoo spokeswoman Nancy Hayden Crowley told SFGate.

"That's the animal world."

Most of the exhibit is open space for the animals to fly and wander, though the missing snake shared a case with another individual of the same species for protection from the other animals. "We have about 100 species of plants and animals in here," zoo spokesman Joe Fitting told KPIX. "Many of them are snake-eating birds."

If the snake is still alive and wandering the exhibit outside of its case, visitors don't have to worry. Fitting said the snake is "barely venomous," and its bite is akin to a bee sting or spider bite.

Zookeepers haven't ruled out the possibility it's just hiding out. The snake is barely an inch wide and about a foot long.

Oh, holy hell. A snake! Eeps! Somebody KILL IT! KILL IT NOW! SLICE ITS HEAD OFF and BURN THE THING!! Oh, look, nature found its way to the parking lot near Bernal Hill this afternoon. How fun.

Thanks goes out to Emily Limon for snapping this shot.