SOUTH WALES ECHO (Cardiff, UK) 17 July 07 Schoolboy is reunited with lost snake (Katie Norman)
A delighted schoolboy has been reunited with his pet snake after it disappeared down the toilet 11 weeks ago.
Kieran Desmond, 10, from Grangetown, Cardiff, thought Gerrard, his Californian Corn Snake, had drowned after it escaped into the pipework.
Thinking it had died, the family had continued to use the toilet until Kieran’s mum Janet glimpsed the reptile in the toilet last week.
When it was eventually prised out, the snake had doubled in length.
Kieran said: “My mum had bleached the toilet so he looks perfect.”
The youngster lost his snake on the day of a family christening more than two months ago.
He said: “There’s a massive plant in the bathroom which he likes to climb.
“I was just putting him on it and he went out of my hands and down the toilet.”
Kieran flushed the toilet, thinking the rising water would force Gerrard to surface.
But when his snake failed to appear, the youngster feared the worst.
Nothing was seen of the reptile for 10 weeks and the family continued to use the bathroom.
But last week Janet, 43, a donor attendant for the National Blood Service, noticed Gerrard lurking in the toilet bowl.
She said: “No-one believed me when I said I’d seen it.
“We all thought we’d lost him.”
The family drained the toilet and placed mice in the bowl to coax out the elusive reptile – but still Gerrard failed to appear.
Eventually Kieran’s dad Mark, 40, a plumber, dismantled the toilet and sprayed hot water down the pipework to force out the snake.
Kieran was overjoyed to be reunited with his pet, as were his parents and sisters Danah, 10, and Zoe, 14.
Christy Whatley, owner of snake shop Reptile Cymru in Canton, Cardiff, was not surprised to hear of Gerrard’s disappearing act. She said: “Snakes can hold their breath for longer than humans – up to 30 minutes.
“I imagine he found an air pocket after the toilet had been flushed.
“They can squeeze into the smallest of places so if it can grab onto anything it can survive.
“And they can actually go for six months or longer without eating.”

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