The parents of a five-month old baby were shocked to discover a metre-long python in her room.
The royal python slithered out of the nursery of the family home in Tadworth, Surrey, down the stairs and settled under the sofa, according to the RSPCA.
It was removed by the girl’s uncle and taken to a friend nearby who owns a vivarium, much to the relief of the father of the family, who is scared of snakes.
RSPCA animal collection officer Louis Horton said: “The young royal python was very friendly so I was sure he was an escaped pet from a nearby home.
“I took him into our care but, thankfully, we were able to find his owner and return him.
“It turns out he was called Gozer the Gozerian – named after Ghostbusters – and belonged to the family’s neighbour.
“He’d been missing since May so it was nice to be able to return him home.”
Gozer the Gozerian is the main villain in the original Ghostbusters film, in which he takes the form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to attack New York City.
Gozer the python had escaped from his vivarium by pushing out the air vent, according to his owner Bex.
She said she did not alert neighbours at the time because she did not want to frighten them.
“Snakes are like little ninjas, it’s amazing how they can escape,” she added,
“Gozer is like Houdini. He’s very naughty but we’re so pleased to have him home.”
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