SALEM, Ohio (WJW) -- Squirrels, birds and the occasional chipmunk. These are all things one would expect to find on their front porch in Northeast Ohio. Things we see in nature every day.
But a python? Not so much.
Leanna Skiba took to Facebook to describe the "weird day" she had which included the discovery of what is believed to be a ball python dead on her front porch.
"So did someone's pet get out or did someone just dump a python (I'm no Steve Irwin but I'm thinking it's a python). I'm assuming he died from the cold," she wrote.
She also shared several pictures of the snake.
Skiba told Fox 8 the first thing she noticed was a bad smell. She then found the snake coiled up around a potting plant on her porch, covered by leaves.
"Upon further inspection I realized the snake was dead. I'm not sure for how long," she said, adding she does believe it's a ball python.
Commenters on Facebook agreed.
"Sadly, it is a pet ball python. I wouldn't assume someone turned it loose on purpose. It looked like it was well fed and cared for when alive. It's not uncommon for snakes to escape their enclosure and get outside. Unfortunately, species like ball pythons can't handle the cold well," one person wrote.
"I'm far from a snake person. They give me the heebie jeebies. However, I know they are little escape artists and this one looks well kept. I hope this wasn't malicious," another commenter wrote.
Skiba told Fox 8 she called animal control and left a message.
"If no one claims it as their pet on Salem Talk I'll probably bury it? Not too sure yet either. What a wild thing to find."
According to Petco, ball pythons can grow up to 5 feet long and can live upwards of 30 years. They get their name from their behavior of curling themselves up into a tight ball.
Because they are cold-blooded, ball pythons cannot be exposed to cold temperatures for very long. According to PetMD, a snake's habitat should be kept at 95 degrees on the warm end, and 78 degrees on the cold end.
Several recent nights in Northeast Ohio had dipped well below.