Ball Python Snake Found On Peninsula Bus, Burlingame Shelter Finds Adopter [UPDATED]

EDITOR'S NOTE/UPDATE: 'Rumplesnakeskin' the ball python has a new home! Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA officials tell Patch Wednesday evening that a San Mateo family took the stray snake home.

Pictured above is Brianna Haney "who is very excited to have Rumplesnakeskin join her family," says Buffy Martin Tarbox, PHS/SPCA’s communications manager. The Haney family already has three snakes, two dogs and a cat — all rescues.

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BURLINGAME, CA — A two-foot-long Ball Python snake that somehow ended up on a Peninsula public bus is now available for adoption, officials with the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA announced this week. That's right: a python on a bus.

"No one is quite certain how the snake ended up on the bus, but we are grateful someone spotted him and he was safely removed from the bus," said Buffy Martin Tarbox, PHS/SPCA’s communications manager. "We’ve named him Rumplesnakeskin and he’s available for adoption at our Center for Compassion in Burlingame."

The reptile was discovered about a month ago, on Sept. 27, on a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus as it was traveling through Palo Alto, according to Tarbox.

Once someone spotted Rumplesnakeskin, the bus driver pulled over at Encinal Avenue and El Camino Real in Menlo Park, passengers were cleared and the snake was given a private escort off the vehicle and strait to Palo Alto Animal Services. However, no one claimed him, and the python was transferred to the Burlingame shelter after nine days which is better suited to care for him, Tarbox said.

Tarbox said Rumplesnakeskin was "clearly" somebody's pet, as he is friendly and likes to be held.

"For those interested and willing to provide the specialized care reptiles need, Ball Pythons make ideal pets since they are friendly and tend to be smaller in size, on average about two to three feet once fully grown," she said.

Experts at the humane society believe the snake is male.

"He's super friendly," Tarbox said. "Hopefully he's done with his journeys on buses."

Tarbox said the fee to adopt Rumplesnakeskin is $35. He has the potential to live up to 30 years with proper care.

Anyone interested in adopting the snake can go to the humane society's Center for Compassion at 1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame. The center is open Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on the weekends from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Photos courtesy of PHS/SPCA / Bay City News Service contributed to this report