Missing ball python rides across Virginia in U-Haul truck

Wildlife rescuer Richard Perry said the 3-foot snake was lethargic from the cold.

VIRGINIA (Web Desk) - A 3-foot ball python will be reunited with its owner after hitchhiking across the state of Virginia in a U-Haul truck.

Virginia Wildlife Management and Control said personnel responded to a U-Haul business in Henrico County when a manager opened the door of a truck and discovered a large, non-native snake.

Wildlife rescuer Richard Perry said the 3-foot snake was lethargic from the cold.

"We didn't even think it would make it through the night," Perry told WRIC-TV. "It was in very, very bad shape."

The U-Haul business contacted the truck's previous renter, but they didn't know anything about a python.

"The previous driver was driving around with a three-foot python in the vehicle, in the cab, and had no idea the snake was there," Perry said.

Virginia Wildlife Management and Control posted about the unusual discovery on Facebook, and word of the python eventually reached the animal's owner in Newport News, on the other side of the state.

The owner told rescuers she had rented the truck earlier and thought her pet snake had gone missing at some point during the journey. She said she had not suspected the python was still in the truck.

The python, which recovered from its ordeal with help from the rescue team, will soon be reunited with its owner, the rescue group said.