A reptile lover who took in a mystery snake wants to find its owner.

Dave Tonge, assistant manager at Huddersfield’s Pet Warehouse, has been looking after Jake the female amelanistic corn snake since she was found in Longwood last Wednesday.

He came to the rescue by taking the two and a half foot orange beauty in after Susy Hellawell spotted her in her own garden.

Now he has made a plea for the owner to come forward within four weeks, otherwise he will re-home her himself.

“I’ve actually had several calls from people saying they own the snake,” said Dave, who has three snakes himself.

“But they have been calling from places such as Dalton and Leeds. There’s no way this snake would have made the journey across roads to get to where it did and survive.

“We’d like to be able to give her back to her original owner, who must live nearby in Longwood but so far no one has come forward.”

Longwood found Corn Snake, in safe hands at Pet Warehouse, Queensgate. David Tonge and Pauline Crawshaw and the found snake.

Dave collected about the snake after Susy asked for help about what to do with the snake on the Golcar, Milnsbridge, Longwood and Cowlersley Facebook group.

“My friend saw the post and let me know so I went straight around.

“She did actually bite me but corn snakes aren’t poisonous – it’s just a thing that happens in my job.

“We’ve housed her in our pet shop for the time being.

“She’s doing ok but she’s not eaten anything yet, possibly due to the stress of being in a new location.”

Dave is keeping a close eye on her progress.

“I’ve given the four week deadline to enable us to monitor her and check she is okay.

Corn Snake safe at Pet Warehouse, Queensgate.

“It will also give us chance to wean her back onto dead mice, which corn snakes eat, if needs be.

“We’re not sure how long she has been outside for so there is a chance she could have been eating live ones, which we don’t want to encourage her to continue doing as it’s cruel.

“Live prey could bite and kill her, just as she could to them.

“We also need to use the time to handle her because she doesn’t seem used to this.

“We’re doing this every day and she’s getting better but she doesn’t like to stay still like some do when they feel comfortable around humans.”

The owner can contact Dave by calling 01484 519601 or emailing petwarehouse@mail.com.