Snake on the loose at UK city centre lunges at shoppers to bite them

On Wednesday (12 August) a seemingly unwelcome guest took to the busy streets of Glasgow city centre.

A bright orange snake appeared to be on the loose, slithering about Argyle Street, outside of one of the entrances to the St Enoch Shopping Centre.

And it appeared from a viral TikTok video that the reptile was lunging at people and snapping at their ankles as they walked by.

While some users pointed out that it would actually just be ‘harmless’, that’s not to say people weren’t freaked out by the weird sight of a snake being on the loose in the Scottish city centre.

“I know I have an irrational fear of snakes but always controlled it by knowing that it is highly unlikely I’d ever come across one randomly! …now this!!” one freaked out.

It appears from the clip, and the string of comments agreeing, that it was a corn snake.

These are not native to the UK and it’s most likely that the snake out at the shops was a lost or an abandoned pet.

It is reported that a member of the public ended up handing in the snake to a security guard at the shopping centre and was then eventually collected by the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA).

An spokesperson for the all-animal emergency service told STV: “I can confirm that an Animal Rescue Officer from the Scottish SPCA attended and collected the snake after a member of the public handed it into security at St Enoch Shopping Centre in Glasgow on August 12.

“It was then taken to our Glasgow Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Cardonald, where it is now being cared for by the team.”

It is still unclear just how the orange snake ended up being on the shopping streets of Glasgow.

“Corn snakes aren’t even usually aggressive poor wee thing is petrified,” one user wrote in the comments.

“Awww it's just a corn snake. probably someone's pet that’s been dumped,” another suggested.

“It’s just a wee corn snake. Poor wee thing,” third put as a fourth wrote: “I’m not a snake gal but I wanna save it.”

Sharing a snap of their own pet, others echoed the same sentiment: “Oh my god poor thing, I would’ve picked up then and there. Mines literally the sweetest soul!”

And many suggested: “It’s so scared… it’s striking out of fear.”

Corn snakes are a popular choice for a pet snake as their said to be known for their ‘docile nature’ – making the behaviour of the one on the street pretty out of character.

They aren’t venomous and instead use constriction to kill their wild prey.