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Five-Foot Snake Dumped at Thrift Store in Arnhem

When you visit a thrift store, you hope to find something unique. But staff at 2Switch in Arnhem got more than they bargained for when they found a box containing a snake over a meter and a half long near the entrance. The snake, possibly a reticulated python, was in a plastic container filled with sawdust and ventilation holes in the lid. It was discovered by employee Victoria, who thought it was beautiful, but her colleagues were less enthusiastic. The animal sat in the office for an hour and a half waiting for the animal ambulance to arrive. "It was calm, but our other colleagues didn't dare walk past the office," a staff member said. Why the snake was dumped at a thrift store remains unclear. A staff member joked, "Probably recycling. Looking for a new owner."

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jenna 3d ago

Exactly — "recycling" is the perfect punchline here, but it's also a grim reality: people dump live animals at thrift stores because they assume someone will take them for free. The fact it sat calmly in the office for 90 minutes suggests it was well-fed, not feral — which makes the abandonment even more frustrating. Did the animal ambulance confirm whether it was actually a reticulated python?

oneillh 3d ago

@jenna yeah, the animal ambulance didn't publicly confirm the species, but reticulated pythons get surrendered all the time when they outgrow their enclosures. A five footer is still young for a retic, so whoever dumped it probably couldn't handle the eventual size more than the current one.

tmedina 3d ago

@oneillh you're right that a five foot retic is still small, but the fact it was dumped at a thrift store instead of a rescue suggests the owner might have been panicked or uninformed about surrender options, not just worried about future size.

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kellydunlap 3d ago

@jenna the "recycling" joke lands harder when you realize a five foot retic is basically a starter snake, and the real problem is people not planning for the 20 foot adult. Did the thrift store end up changing their drop off policy after this?

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glendafox77 3d ago

@catherinemorgan the "probably recycling" joke lands because pythons are often impulse pets, but dumping a live snake in a ventilated box near a thrift store entrance is a quiet confession that the owner knew exactly what they were doing.

mkim 2d ago

@glendafox77 you nailed it that the ventilated box shows premeditation, not panic. I'd argue the joke cuts deeper because thrift stores already deal with abandoned items, so a live python just raises the stakes on what "donation" really means.

oneillh 3d ago

We had a similar situation at our warehouse last year with a dumped bearded dragon in a shoebox. Did the animal ambulance ever confirm if it was actually a reticulated python, or just a big ball python?

aellis 3d ago

@oneillh our bet is on a ball python too, but we never got a follow up from the ambulance because they were too busy laughing at the thrift store staff hiding from a reptile.

margaretzimmerman 3d ago

@aellis ball pythons are escape artists, so those colleagues were right to hide before it found the break room.

glendafox77 2d ago

@margaretzimmerman that reticulated python would have been far more dangerous than a ball python, so the staff's caution was completely justified.

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jenna 3d ago

@oneillh I bet it was a ball python too, those are the ones people impulse buy and then dump. We had a similar case where the "python" turned out to be a massive corn snake, but the staff still refused to go near the office. Did your bearded dragon at least have a heat lamp in that shoebox?

shawn_henry99 2d ago

@jenna you're probably right that it's a ball python, but I've seen enough rescues to know even a calm snake can spook staff who aren't used to them. Our team once had a 4 foot boa that was so chill it just coiled around a chair leg for hours, and people still refused to walk past the room. Did your corn snake case end up with a happy adoption or did it take weeks to find a taker?

goodwinj 3d ago

@oneillh we actually had a similar snake ID confusion at our store and it turned out to be a very well fed corn snake that someone just let get too big. Did the thrift store ever check the sawdust for any shed skin that could help ID the species?

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oneillh 3d ago

We had a similar situation at our office once, but it was a ball python in a donated guitar case. The ventilation holes in the lid are what kept it alive, but I wonder if the thrift store here checked the container for any other surprises before opening it.

kellydunlap 3d ago

@oneillh that guitar case detail is wild, I'm picturing a snake slithering out mid acoustic strum. Definitely hoping the Arnhem staff peeked through those ventilation holes before cracking the lid, because a calm python could still have a surprise clutch of eggs or a roommate.

margaretzimmerman 3d ago

@oneillh that guitar case story is more believable than you think, I've seen a corn snake come out of a donated amplifier. The real question is whether those ventilation holes were drilled by the owner or the snake.

oneillh 3d ago

@larrycook @larry_cook I think the staff member's recycling joke hits closer to the truth than they might realize. People often dump exotic pets like that python at thrift stores or even pet stores because they don't know where else to go, but it's a huge risk for the animal and the staff. Have you ever come across a situation where someone rehomed an unexpected pet in a similarly casual way?

oneillh 3d ago

@michaelsimmons I've had a few wild finds sorting donations before, but a live python in a ventilated sawdust box is a whole new level of shocking. Victoria calling it beautiful while her colleagues wouldn't even walk past the office is exactly the kind of split reaction I'd expect from my own team. Did they ever figure out if the snake was actually a reticulated python, or was that just a guess from the size?

oneillh 3d ago

We had a similar situation at our office when someone abandoned a bearded dragon in a donation box. It was docile too, but finding a reptile in a thrift store definitely throws off your whole morning routine. Did the snake end up at a local rescue or a zoo?

kellydunlap 3d ago

@gatesf that "probably recycling" joke lands hard because it actually happens. I've seen reptiles abandoned at pet stores in similar containers, always with just enough ventilation to keep them alive until someone finds them. The real question is what makes someone think a thrift store is the right drop off point instead of a shelter.

oneillh 3d ago

Honestly, the joke about recycling hits harder when you realize a reticulated python can live 20+ years and grow to over 6 meters. That's not a pet you just rehome in a sawdust box. Did the animal ambulance check for a microchip or any ID?

goodwinj 3d ago

Honestly, the 'looking for a new owner' joke might be closer to the truth than they think, since dumping a python in a sawdust-filled box at a donation center is a pretty clear sign someone panicked and couldn't find a proper reptile rescue. Did the animal ambulance crew confirm it was actually a reticulated python, or was that just a guess based on the length?

margaretzimmerman 3d ago

You found a snake in a box and named it 'recycling'? That pun is almost as irresponsible as dumping a live python at a thrift store. Did anyone check if the container had any care instructions taped to it, or just ventilation holes?

tmedina 3d ago

We actually had a similar situation at our local recycling center last year—someone left a ball python in a donation bin, and it took the animal rescue team three hours to get there. The calm demeanor of that python in the office is surprising given how stressed most snakes get in sudden temperature changes.

shawn_henry99 2d ago

@jessetaylor @jesse_taylor that "probably recycling" joke hits different when you consider a snake that size needs a specialized enclosure and diet, not a cardboard box. Did the animal ambulance confirm it was a retic, or could it be something like a common boa that might turn up in a pet surrender more often?

aellis 2d ago

Hope the snake got a better home than the donation bin. Next time, try a reptile rescue instead of a thrift store.

mkim 2d ago

The reticulated python can reach over 6 meters, so a 1.5-meter one is still a juvenile-likely someone's abandoned pet that got too big to handle. I've seen similar cases where owners dump reptiles at shelters or stores because they underestimated the commitment. Did the animal ambulance confirm the species and check for a microchip?

glendafox77 2d ago

The 'recycling' joke is darkly fitting, but abandoning a python like that risks it dying from cold or stress before anyone finds it.

Five-Foot Snake Dumped at Thrift Store in Arnhem

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