One loose ball python, nicknamed Gary by police officers, was caught in a north London garden on Friday morning.
An Islington MPS post appealed for the owner to come forward, posting: “Can you help reunite this lost snake, thought to be a ball python, with its owner?
“It was found in a garden in St John’s Way #N19 on 10 Aug.
“Officers secured the serpent and called it Gary - Gary is currently housed at a pet hospital.”
It came as a cyclist narrowly avoided striking another huge serpent slithering across a south London roundabout in Balham.
The runaway reptile - nicknamed the Balham Boa - was seen shedding its skin on the busy junction before another man calmly got off his bike, picked it up and placed it safely on a grass verge.
A motorist filming the bizarre interaction, says: “It’s moving. It’s real. Oh my god are you actually picking it up?”
“That can’t be a pet it’s too big. That is huge!”
The driver squeals as she says she is going to wind up her window as the cyclist handles the snake sensitively.
Earlier in the week, a pet snake was rescued by firefighters from a house blaze in Greenford, west London.
An RSPCA spokeswoman described London as a hotspot for snakes on the run. She said: “We get more calls from Greater London about snakes in trouble than any other county in England or Wales.”
In 2022 RSPCA received 1,031 reports involving snakes in need of help, with numbers of calls averaging highs of 110 calls per month between May and August.
Snakes are completely dependent on their owners for the correct accommodation, heating, lighting and feed, all of which must replicate their wild habitat as closely as possible to keep them healthy and allow them to express their normal behaviour.
On their own, snakes can suffer from serious diseases, dehydration, injuries, parasites, and in severe cases or if left untreated, they can eventually die.
Most exotic animals kept as pets are unlikely to be able to survive in the wild in Britain and non-native species could pose a serious threat to our native wildlife.
It is illegal to release, or to allow to escape, any species that are not normally native to the UK.
If you can help reunite Gary with his owner police are asking for Londoners to contact them on 101 using the ref CAD7068/10Aug.
