Snake bites sleeping teen in California apartment

[September 15, 2010]  BELL GARDENS, Calif. (AP) -- A 15-year-old boy was bitten by a snake that poked its head from a wall heater in his Bell Gardens apartment.

Arturo Lopez told City News Service that he was sleeping early Tuesday when he felt something on his hand that bit him. Firefighters examined the teen and found that he hadn't been bitten by a poisonous snake.

The snake was 2- to 3-feet long and apparently had belonged to a previous tenant who had a pet snake that got loose. Animal control officials believe the snake had been living in the wall and inside the heater for about two months.

[Associated Press]

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