A Texas man got a unpleasant surprise after stopping by a local Starbucks, after a business presentation.
San Antonio resident, Bruce Ahlswede, found a snake lying across the toilet in the Starbucks bathroom. Ahlswede, who thought the snake was a toy left by a prankster, quickly contacted a store employee after seeing the reptile move.
"I looked down and looked at the toilet and I [saw] this snake laying across the toilet," said Ahlswede, according to San Antonio station KSAT. "I said 'Hey, you know you've got a snake in your bathroom?' And she's kind of freaking out. So we went back in and watched it as it slithered back and around and down underneath the rim of the bowl and right inside."
Ahlswede, his wife and store employees all crowded into the bathroom and watched as the snake slithered around the toilet bowl and disappeared. Ahlswede's wife, Michele, snap a photo of the reptile and posted it to Facebook.
"It had to have crawled up the pipes," Michele wrote on her page. "I have heard of it happening but have never seen it in person. Its a python guess he like coffee also."
According to CNN, a snake expert told the station that the non-poisonous snake was most likely a rat snake.
A website for the University of Austin Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center describes rat snakes as similar-looking to pythons that can reach 7 feet in length. The site said the snakes pose no threat to humans.
According to the Huffington Post, a spokeswoman for Starbucks said the company has been made aware of the incident and are "very concerned." Customer safety is the franchises top priority. Animal Control was contacted and an inspection of the venue conducted. It has been determined there are no safety concerns.
According to San Antonio station KSAT, despite the creepy encounter, Ahlswede and his wife said they will remain Starbucks customers. Ahlswede's wife also said she will be double-checking every toilet from now on.
This is not the first time a snake has been found hanging around beverages recently.
Houston station KTRK reported customer, Marcus Forson, found a snake in an 18-pack of Bud Light beer last week.
He opened the box, grabbed a bottle and saw the snake wrapped around it. He thought it was a joke, but later realized the snake was real and dead.
"There's no way I was going to drink the beer," Forson said. "It stunk bad. The snake was dead. The snake was ice cold. It's kind of shrunk up and the eyes are missing out of it."
