A 1.5-meter python was found curled up in a knapsack left at a department store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward earlier this week, it was learned Thursday. According to local police officials, the reptile was found by a security guard at the Shibuya branch of Seibu department store at around 11 a.m. Monday. The guard opened a black knapsack left on the floor in front of the store's elevators because it looked suspicious. The snake, which measured about 1.5 meters in length and had a diameter of roughly 3 cm, was coiled up inside, police said. It was later confirmed that the viper was a nonpoisonous Ball Python, which is a relatively tame species. Police treated the snake as lost property and handed it over to a pet shop. Ball Pythons are popular pets and sell for about 25,000 yen, according to pet industry sources. Police suggested that the snake was abandoned by someone who could no longer care for it.
