ABILENE, Texas (AP) — Rattlesnakes often hide in rural Texas homes, but few are discovered peering up from a toilet.

Snake removal expert Nathan Hawkins said Friday that he was called to a home near Abilene last month after a boy lifted the toilet lid and was surprised to find an adult rattlesnake poking out of the water with most of its body extended down into the drain.

Hawkins says the snake found its way into the house’s plumbing through an exposed pipe.

The boy’s mother decapitated the snake and Hawkins removed 23 others that he found nesting in the storm cellar and beneath the home.

Hawkins posted details of the account to his company’s Facebook page and the post has been shared thousands of times.

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