I’m sure you have seen the news stories/videos of people finding large snakes in their toilets, However how do they get in there?

Can they really come up through the septic system and find their way in your toilet bowl?

We will see if that really is possible and should you be worried that one day you might even find one in your toilet when you are about to go do your business.

Can Snakes Come Up Through Toilets and Why Do They Hide There?

Snakes can actually come up through toilets.

Snakes prefer places that are dark and cool especially when they are in places that are very dry, extremely hot, or both.

Toilets offer a cool, wet, dark place for snakes to cool off and relax.

Because of the small comfortable place that a toilet can create, thus giving snakes the opportune place to feel safe and comfortable.

In addition to the reasons of comfort and safety that snakes find when hanging out in toilets, part of what can also draw them there are the food sources that can draw them into the sewers in the first places.

Rats, mice, and other small rodents that live in the sewers draw snakes in to find their food sources.

Snakes are cold blooded animals. Therefore, they need warm environments to survive.

If a snake stays in a cool or cold environment too long, they can die.

Once in the sewer’s snakes have a limited amount of time to find their next meal before they need to move on to find a place to warm up.

Their search for food and their search for a place to warm up can also be a reason for them to be drawn into your plumbing and quickly into the toilets they are connected to.

How Do Snakes Get in Toilets?

The most common way that snakes can get into your toilet is by coming in through the sewer vent which is located in the roof of a home or building.

They can also get into a septic tank if the lid is not closed securely, through the sewer system, and through cracked or broken plumbing pipes.

Snakes can indeed find their way in your toilet although it is considered rare, especially in cooler climates.

The most common snakes found in toilets are smaller snakes that are not dangerous such as garden snakes and tree snakes.

In very warm climates like South America and Australia larger snakes like anacondas have even found their way into toilets.

How Are Snakes Physically Able to Get into Toilets?

A wide variety of snakes have been found in toilets over the years. Some of those snakes are small baby or garden snakes, while others are anacondas.

The snakes that most often find their way into toilets are small snakes, that are not venomous, and pose little danger.

The body design of venomous snakes and nonvenomous snakes are different. Venomous snakes are known for having wide triangle shaped heads and thick bodies.

Nonvenomous snakes on the other hand have more narrow heads and slim bodies.

Because of their unique body styles, it is more common and easier for nonvenomous snakes to work their way into sewer or septic systems, and into pluming pipes.

While venomous snakes have a harder time fitting into the slim pipes used in plumbing and maneuvering their thick bodies around such a tight space.

With their flexible bodies maneuvering through plumbing can be an easy task for them.

Wriggling through dry plumbing and navigating the S-Bend of any toilet should be fairly easy for most snakes.

How Often or Common Is It for Snakes to Hide in Toilets?

Snakes being found in toilets in considered to be a rarity.

As rare as it is though, it happens more commonly in places with high temperatures like Arizona, South America, and Australia.

What Do You Do If You Find A Snake in A Toilet

Even though nonpoisonous snakes are more common than those that are poisonous you should be careful in any case if you find a snake in a toilet.

Ensure that you do not make them feel threatened, especially if you don’t know what type of snake they are.
Close the lid on the toilet if at all possible so that they are less likely to get out and have a chance to hide somewhere else.
Call animal control or a snake rescue to have the snake safely and properly removed.

Not being careful, trying to remove a snake yourself, or reacting in a way that makes the snake feel threatened can all cause you to be injured.

Worse, if the snake is poisonous, then you are at an even greater risk.

So bare that in mind before deciding how you are going to get a snake out of your toilet if the situation arises.

Can Baby Snakes Get into A Bathroom & How Do You Get Rid of Them

Baby snakes have an even easier time of finding their way into a toilet or simply a bathroom than adult snakes do.

Baby snakes are incredibly small and slim which will allow them to get into buildings and homes through small cracks in pipes, foundation, and flooring.

They can also slither in through gaps in doorways and between sliding doors.

Although baby snakes are exceedingly small and are in many cases found in small groups with several others, it is still best to call in a professional to collect the baby snakes as well.

This is especially important because baby snakes that are venomous are considerably more dangerous than their adult counterparts.

Baby snakes cannot control the amount of venom they dispense when they strike, so handling them or making them feel threatened enough to strike is more dangerous for an inexperienced individual.

Can You Just Flush A Snake Down the Toilet

No. Flushing a snake down the toilet does not actually get rid of the snake.

The snake will remain in the plumbing and in all likelihood simply work their way back into the toilet bowl.

Also read: What Kind of Snake has an Orange Belly

How Do You Stop Snakes from Getting into Your Toilet

There are some things that you can do to prevent snakes from getting into your toilets and plumbing.

When it comes to the vent for your plumbing that is located on the roof of your home or a building it can be as easy as putting a screen over the vent to prevent a snake from getting in that way.

The screen over the vent will need to be checked and cleaned on a regular basis though to ensure that the plumbing system can vent properly though.

Toilets can have a multi-flap installed on the end of the pipe where it connects to a toilet.

The multi-flap allows waist to be flushed down the pipe, but it stops anything coming up through the pipe and into the toilet.

Another common entrance for snakes is a loose septic lid, so ensuring that your septic lid is secured tightly and checking it after it has been emptied to make sure it is refastened properly is an important step to take for septic tank owners.

Also take care to properly repairing septic, sewer, and plumbing pipes when they become damaged or cracked is very important.

Can Snakes Come Up Your Shower Drain?

Yes, similarly to your toilet, snakes can also get in through your shower drains and bathroom sink drains.

This is possible because most bathroom plumbing is connected and shares a ventilation system that vents through the roof.

The screen that is places on the roof vent to prevent snakes getting into your toilet will also protect them from getting into your sink and shower drains from that same method.

While multi-flaps won’t help keep snakes or other pests out of sink and shower drains, mesh drain coverings can also help with preventing pests from coming through shower and sink drains when they come in through plumbing by other methods.

Are There Other Ways for A Snake to Get into Your Bathroom?

Snakes can get into bathrooms several different ways.

Coming in through the plumbing is just one of those ways.

The ways a snake can get in is limited some by the size and shape of the snake.

Opened windows, cracks in foundation, openings in the subfloor around plumbing or electrical, and gaps between doors are several of the ways that a snake may find their way into a structure and find its way to your bathroom.