to be really scared and pissed off with the RSPCA.

[HelenaDove]

Last Weds night a snake found its way into my kitchen. It was on the wall above the cooker.

I heard the saucepans ding and saw it, I freaked out i called the RSPCA. They asked loads of questions. They said it was a corn snake Im incredibly phobic. They told me to go round all my neighbours at midnight and ask if its someones pet. They refused to come out. So did the police when i phoned them. In desperation i phoned the council and got my third refusal. So DH tried to catch it to put it outside It was too fast and got through a hole in the kitchen floor. We filled the holes at the instruction of the RSPCA. My 65 year old husband with a heart condition had to try and deal with it I was and still am a wreck. RSPCA phoned at 8.30 am the next morning (Thurs) to ask if it was still there after telling me to "leave it" (they didnt give a fuck about the cat i told them i have) Didnt ask whether i have young children or a baby in a cot. During The Thurs morn phone call she told me to call again if the snake comes back. Well at midnight DH saw it trying to get through the venty bit in the window of the communal hallway and managed to gently shove it outside.
Phoned RSPCA again who again told me that they cant come out at this hour and can only come out during the daytime. Ive been living in fear since last Weds. Woman on Thurs promised me they would come out if it appeared again.

The guy on the phone tonight warned me that if the snake gets hurt i would be prosecuted.
But they WONT come out Im petrified Snakes are nocturnal FFS! My nerves are fucking bad. DH has had to take extra GTN spray

I googled earlier and found this. And they had the cheek to tell this couple it was "crossed wires" And like this couple we are in Essex too.

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/493358/Man-removes-five-foot-snake-from-kitchen

Incidentally, I haven't seen any bonkers posts on here apart from IKnowIAm an idiot posting about killing it unnecessarily. I for one took the time to write a long post trying to help.

The suggestions were given because the OP is phobic and wanted to ensure the snake was caught. I wouldn't have to consider seeking help, paid or otherwise, to deal with a snake in my house because it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. I'd still look for a FB group or something/put up a sign because someone's lost their pet - same as I would do (and have done) for an escaped rabbit. Still, maybe I just should have set the dog on that rabbit, instead, saved myself the trouble?

Okay, not bonkers, maybe, but unkind, unhelpful and unnecessary...

And yabmassiveleyu to post 'petrified crying and shaking' on an online forum to attempt to convince us you are reasonable to hassle a charity under the delusion a corn snake is about to eat your child.

Omg just realised you also say you rang the police. Ywnbu to get a grip

You need to be a little more self reliant.

^Yes you are bu.
This is the RSPCA's fault ? Why?
It's no one else's fault that you are phobic.
You really need to grow up.^

Was any of that posters trying to be helpful? Really?

Ring the number in the link you gave

Ok Lost I see your point there! Those examples were harsh.

People can't help having phobias, but they can take steps to deal with them, and also to keep their phobia in perspective in terms of how they expect others to deal with their fears.

Calling the RSPCA was reasonable, but being very pissed off that they wouldn't come out, at night, for a small snake they'd told her was harmless... that's not reasonable. Similarly, being cross because they hadn't worried about her cat or a possible child, when they'd presumably told her that the snake was harmless... not reasonable.

Calling the police when she knew the snake was harmless... also not reasonable.

She did ask AIBU, after all!

By the way...
The woman i spoke to from the RSPCA also told me it was very likely to be wild.

You either misunderstood, the woman knows bugger all about snakes, or she knows some hitherto undisclosed secret about a naturalised population of corns in your area. Corn snakes do not live wild in the UK, although it is possible that escaped/released individuals could survive and breed, especially in the south east, and establish colonies. Hasn't happened yet, though, to my knowledge.

As I've been quoted as unhelpful I will happily admit I didn't post either of the first 2 as an attempt at being helpful. Op didn't post in chat or somewhere asking for helpful tips, she asked wbu so I simply responded to her invite to comment with my opinion. Unless I've missed a talk guideline somehow I was not aware that in aibu you should only reply in the negative, for some reason I thought it was ok to respond 'yabu' and give the reasons why

I've just asked my children who they would phone if there was a snake in the kitchen. Their response was "OMG, there's a snake in the kitchen? Really? What time is it? Is the pet shop still open? We need a tank and a heater. We promise we'll pay you back. I can't see it, where is it?"

I might hire them out as snake wranglers

Suggestions regarding the op advertising that the snake was hanging around her flat were because the snake's owner would have had no way of knowing where it was without someone telling them and once they knew they could have recovered it. Everyone would have been happy. Not foolish at all IknowIam.

Lostmysanity I listed loads of helpful suggestions for the op prior to the single line you quote from my first post.

There's a time and a place to stick the boot in on AIBU though, isn't there? I for one don't think that time is when an OP is clearly panicked and struggling to deal with something. Yeah, she posted in AIBU, but it was clear to a lot of posters that she really just wanted a calming pat on the back and advise.

Although I also don't think AIBU should be a place to stick the boot in. You can explain why someone is being unreasonable without getting nasty about it, can't you?

I didn't read posters name's Flower, I just picked out the parts I thought were uncalled for.

Just because you posted advise, which most probably was helpful, does not mean it is okay to then finish that off with a remark clearly meant to cause insult.

The RSPCA aren't like ringing 999 y'know. It's not how it works.

MrsDevere summed up what I wanted to say.

I don't care that you didn't read my name but I do object to you selecting one line you didn't like in a balanced and well meant post.

Suggesting someone develops self reliance is not an insult.

Assuming someone is not self reliant because they have a phobia and act in a manner which is common for phobias is insulting.

I had a mini tantrum when my child tried to pet a horse on the school run this morning. Was it reasonable or rational behaviour? No. Does it mean I am not self reliant aka incapable? No.

why is it ok for op to slag the rspca but not appropriate to respond by pointing out how u she is? I get your point lost but if she'd posted saying aibu to run away screaming, aibu to have a phobia, what do I do etc I would have responded very differently, but I think if you are going to give it (i.e blaming rspca etc) you should be prepared to take it

I think the OP was demonstrating a lack of self-reliance. I do understand the phobia, I would probably be in the same state with a snake in my house.

However, it was clear that the OP had expectations that someone official should sort the problem out for her : RSPCA, Council, Police and Housing Association were all mentioned. She rejected helpful suggestions like removing cat food and leafleting/speaking to neighbours as not her job to do for some reason. The reason I suggested talking to the neighbours in her block was that firstly someone may know whose snake it was and they would have the skills and self-interest to help recover the beast and secondly they could work as a group to sort out the problem.

It frankly seemed to me pretty odd behaviour not to, and expect a couple of shouts out of the window to be sufficient.

The RSPCA is a large, multi department, national organisation, not a person.

Had OP been slagging a neighbour/the bloke from pub for not helping her then you may have a point. I am sure the RSPCA will not be crying into it's cornflakes because OP feels wronged by them.

Also I defy anyone who works within animal rescue not to slag the RSPCA at one point or another.

They are not a struggling, hardworking charity, although I agree the indvidual branches try their best, but as a whole the organisation is a money grabbing, power hungry, profit turning political organisation, with very little to do with hands on animal rescue.

I volunteer with a large animal charity, and anyone you speak to there in the animal welfare section hates the RSPCA. For a very, very rich charity they do seem fond of killing the animals they 'rescue' - I've seen an estimate of nearly 50%. I've also personally had a bad experience with them, as have friends and neighbours. I've actually never heard anything good about them.

And then of course there are the newspaper stories (pinch of salt, I know) about how callous they are when someone leaves them money in a will - I would suggest for RSPCA fans, for your family's sake, leave an exact amount - £10, £100. If you leave 10% of your estate apparently your family will be required to get everything valued down to the penny so the RSPCA can claim what they're owed.

If you catch a native snake in one of those, IKnow, you'll have broken the law. It is illegal to injure or kill any of our native reptiles.

Corn snakes aren't native to the UK. They're native to the southeastern US. Any laws about reptiles native to the UK wouldn't apply to them.

Even if corn snakes do live wild in the UK, that's not at all the same thing as being native. Laws often differentiate between native and introduced species. Grey squirrels live wild in the UK (they were introduced from the southeastern US, they're the same species that were living in my porch roof). Until last year at least, your laws treated them and native red squirrels very differently.

Jesus, while in theory I agree with lurked, does seem like you're on here aching to have a pop...
Anyway, obviously ask neighbours as it will belong to someone. Maybe call the paper? I bet you would have it collected by someone then. If it gets cold (unlikely I know) you could put a warm hot water bottle in a box or something and then if it goes in it can be contained.
As everyone has said, its harmless, but none the less obviously very distressing for you. You can try putting citronella around your bed etc as almost all animals detest the smell and won't go near it.
Call every reptile place you can find in the phone book and perhaps remind rescue places its not been fed and so may be dehydrated.
Good luck!

I haven't read all the thread, but just to suggest that if you ring a more local and smaller animal rescue place, then they might be able to come and help.

...I am glad you got it sorted!

Any laws about reptiles native to the UK wouldn't apply to them.

I didn't say they did, Geeky. I wanted to clarify the legal situation about our native reptiles because a spiked trap was being recommended as a way of dealing with a roaming snake. I didn't want people who dislike or are afraid of snakes (and therefore tend to know very little about them) thinking that it was in any way acceptable or legal to stick a trap down because they've seen a snake or slow worm in their garden.

And I'd already made it very clear upthread that corns are not native and come from the US!

How come ive got to be self reliant but the owner of the actual snake dosnt have to.