It came as a shock for a woman in Forrest city, Arkansas when she accidentally found a three-foot python in her cupboard when she was looking for plastic bags.

Lula Sain's initial reaction was to call her neighbor for help, but there was little he could do; too scared to remove the reptile, which had wrapped itself up into a ball.

Finally, she swept the python on the floor with a broom and called the fire department for help. Officers from the department told AP that the python they found at her home is a ball python, named for their defense mechanism.

The species is native to the savannas of west and central Africa, and are particularly found in dry brush land. They are also found in open grasslands, cleared forests and sometimes in urban areas.

This non-venomous variety of reptiles can roll themselves into a tight ball and tuck their head inside their coil. The snake seemed to have escaped from a terrarium at another home in the neighborhood. It was finally handed over to the son of one of the fire fighters to keep as a pet.