King snake found in baby's crib

Brentwood, N.Y. -- Animal control workers Tuesday had custody of a California king snake that a Brentwood, N.Y., mother found in a crib curled around her baby's leg.

Cari Abatemarco told Newsday she found the snake last week when, after hearing her seven-month-old daughter Isabella cry, went into the bedroom of the Long Island house and was shocked to see the reptile attached to her daughter's leg.

"Once I lifted her up and the snake fell off of her, she stopped crying. But then I was the one crying all night," Abatemarco, 32, told the newspaper.

The snake was captured by animal control workers and taken to an animal shelter in Bay Shore, N.Y. Officials said the reptile was about a foot long, while one witness said it was more like four feet long. Either way, the incident was a shocker for Abatemarco, who told Newsday she suspects the snake might have been lurking in the packaging of the newly purchased crib mattress.

The snake also could have been an escaped pet that got in through a window, a family member speculated.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.