Mississippi courthouse has sneaky snake invasion
Apr 25, 2013, 7:16 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Non-venomous snakes are slithering into a Mississippi courthouse this spring, posing no threat but giving workers the creeps.
Five of the brown DeKay’s snakes _ sometimes called earth snakes _ have been found in the Hinds County circuit clerk’s basement office since April 8.
A deputy clerk, Kelly Phillips, says the largest was as big around as her finger and a few inches long. She didn’t stop to measure it.
Former zookeeper Percy King went to the courthouse to identify the snakes. He says they have soft teeth that probably couldn’t even break a human’s skin. They can enter buildings through tiny holes.
Phillips says the first time she saw one, she screamed “Snake!” and several co-workers scattered. One picked it up with a paper clamp and took it outside
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