Corn snake: Animal was found on city's Princes Street
Animal welfare experts are trying to re-home several stray snakes found slithering through Edinburgh in recent days.
The Scottish SPCA is caring for three harmless pet corn snakes at its Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre - and staff are keen to either reunite the snakes with their owners or find them new homes.
Two of the exotic creatures were found by members of the public in the city centre.
One was found on Commercial Street in Leith at around 10.40pm on Saturday August 21, while the other was found outside the Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop on Princes Street at around 2.30am on Sunday August 22.
Both snakes were handed in to local police stations and later transferred in to the Scottish SPCA's care.
A third corn snake - an albino hatchling - was found on Thursday August 26 on Gilmerton Road.
All three of the snakes were collected by local Scottish SPCA Ambulance Driver Mairi Stewart and are now securely housed in vivariums in the charity's specialist exotics room at its Balerno-based Centre.
Assistant Manager Kenny Sharpe said, "Corn snakes make popular pets as they are small and typically quite docile and easy to handle. However, they are fantastic escape artists who can easily get out of a vivarium if the lid is not properly closed or weighed down.
"It's quite common for us to rescue corn snakes from all sorts of situations, often bathrooms in blocks of flats. We think they may use the drain pipes to move from one property to another.
"These snakes are all in good condition and would make good pets for someone who has the appropriate experience and accommodation to be able to care for them. And if anyone has recently lost a corn snake then we'd invite them to get in touch, as they could find their escaped pet here."
A Scottish SPCA spokeswoman added: "Anyone interested in rehoming or reclaiming a snake should call the Scottish SPCA Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999."
