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This three-foot-long ball python was found by store staff inside Wind Mobile at Richmond’s Lansdowne Mall on Monday.
A three-foot-long snake was found slithering through a cellphone store Monday evening in Richmond, leaving store staff surprised and slightly scared.

Employees at Lansdowne Mall's Wind Mobile were preparing to close just before 6 p.m. Monday when a staff member walked into the store's back room and spotted a snake near a microwave oven.

Val Lofvendahl of Richmond-based Reptile Rescue was called in to handle the situation.

"First thing we do is, because we don't know what we're dealing with, we grab a container and a pair of gloves and hope that it's nothing - but prepare for possibly something aggressive," she told the Province.

Lofvendahl and her daughter arrived shortly after being called and were escorted by security through the closed mall to Wind Mobile, where two frightened employees were waiting outside the store front.

Inside, Lofvendahl found the snake on top of a cardboard box.

Fortunately, the creature was a ball python, which Lofvendahl calls "one of the most docile, gentle snakes in the pet trade."

The mother-daughter pair then captured the snake in a large plastic container, and staff were able to finish closing the store.

The snake, which has since been affectionately named Wind for the store where it was found, is currently undergoing a shed cycle, and is estimated to be around two years old.

"He's really dull, his eyes are clouded and his sight is poor," Lofvendahl explained, noting the python will likely finish shedding within the week. While the snake is not thin, it is a little dehydrated.

"He's got scarring on his belly and at one point, he was not kept properly. He's got a bit of scale rot ... but otherwise, seems to be OK."

Both RCMP Cpl. Stephanie Ashton and Lofvendahl suspect someone abandoned the snake inside the mall, as opposed to outside, which Lofvendahl said is more common during the summer months.

Lofvendahl and her non-profit volunteer group now are caring for the abandoned python. Wind should be available for adoption in just over a month.

Anyone who is interested in adopting the python or other reptiles can find more information online at reptilerescuerichmond.org.