Two snakes literally hung out in a man’s house, and they were probably having sex

A man in Greenwood, S.C. found a couple snakes literally hanging out from his attic. Mark Hyatt sent footage of the snakes to WSPA-TV, in which he stood feet away from them while wielding a broom and his camera, hoping they would fall and end up in his bedroom. While watching this video, a strange thought occurred to me: is it possible these snakes were also mating in this man’s house?

I asked Andrew Durso, a graduate student in biology at Utah State University, about these snakes and whether that was the case. He confirmed the possibility these black rat snakes that Hyatt stumbled upon were indeed mating. “It looks like one (presumably the male) is rubbing his chin on the other’s head, which is pretty standard snake flirting behavior,” Durso told SB Nation. “Snakes don’t normally go indoors to mate, but rat snakes do often hang out in attics (they’re excellent climbers) and sometimes they enter other parts of peoples’ houses.”

So while it looked like a harrowing situation for Hyatt -- he told WSPA he’s “hoping someone can help him get rid of them” -- it was really just two snakes getting it on, upside-down in a stranger’s house. As for how Hyatt could’ve gotten them out, Durso added that the snakes are non-venomous and he could’ve carried them out, but calling animal control is the better solution.

And now you know what to expect if black rat snakes end up in your house.

(via WSPA-TV)