WATCH: Florida deputy pulls big snake out of car engine

WATCH: Florida deputy pulls big snake out of car engine

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida deputy was called in for a slight false alarm when a resident needed help getting a snake out of their car engine.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, a resident in Lehigh Acres called for help after supposedly finding a “15-20 foot python” tangled in their car’s engine compartment.

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Since Sgt. Van Pelt was a licensed python contractor, he responded, expecting to find a giant python.

Instead, he actually found a smaller red rat snake, which was just trying to warm itself in the compartment.

While red rat snakes can still be impressive sizes, they get nowhere near as big as the invasive Burmese python and pose no threat to humans. Instead, the native rat snakes help keep rodent populations under control.

As such. Van Pelt took the snake out of the car and let it free in some woods nearby.

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