Bodhi the python causes mayhem after escaping into Banchory art gallery
The slippery customer left a bit of a mess behind…
A 10 ft long python has been rescued from an art gallery in Aberdeenshire after escaping from her home.
Bodhi, a five-year-old female reticulated python, entered Studio 1 shop and gallery through a vent while it was closed on Monday, knocking over several items.
Owner Martin Wolski, who lives in a flat upstairs, discovered the snake’s whereabouts after spotting the mess through the shop window.
Studio 1 floor manager Viv Kerridge, 40, explained: “The gallery is actually closed on a Monday. I got a very panicky sounding message from my bosses saying, ‘We think there's a snake loose in the shop.’
“Then I got an even more panicked phone call from poor Martin, the snake's owner.
"He was very worried about how we'd react.
“But everyone took it in their stride. We rushed down, opened up the shop. Martin was then able to go in and locate poor Bodhi the python fast asleep in a cupboard."
“She was having a wee spa treatment. She needed to be exfoliated and help shed her skin.
“She found the tiniest vent that Martin had no idea was there, slithered into the wall cavity between the shop and the flat and then fallen through our ceiling.
“It was a wee bit chaotic. Martin had been searching for about an hour and a half. He had just reached the point where he thought he was going to have to knock on neighbours’ doors when he looked in our shop window and realised we're not usually that untidy…
“But she must have had a right good look around. There were lots of things from the shelves on the floor. I think she'd been trying on handbags and she must have touched just about everything.
“Honestly, we were relieved that she'd been found. I'm really glad that she hadn't been harmed and just pleased to be able to get her home.
“On the surface, it was very, very calm. It was certainly the strangest day of work I've had working retail.
“We're all very fond of Bodhi the snake now. She's a lovely girl and she's welcome back anytime.
“Just maybe through the front door next time…”