The woman recalls the shocking moment when she discovered a 20-foot python in the trash can in her apartment in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Teresa Sanchez said she just pulled into the garage of her clown’s apartment after work when she spotted a snake lying on a large trash can.
She initially thought it was a toy so she walked over to investigate. The snake looked so realistic that she suspected it was stuffed until the snake suddenly moved.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Sanchez told KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade. “I was like, ‘Am I in Florida? What’s going on here?”
The 20-foot python, which looks sick, was abandoned on August 5, 2025 in a parking lot in downtown Los Angeles apartment. Please safely remove the snake in downtown LA on August 5th, 2025. (Teresa Sanchez) Plastic container Python was thought to have been placed before being abandoned in the trash bin. (Teresa Sanchez) A 20-foot python abandoned in a trash can inside an apartment car park in downtown Los Angeles on August 5, 2025. Apartment in downtown Los Angeles. (KTLA)
Worried about all the pets and small children who lived in her building, she tried to ask for help.
“The first thing I called was animal control, but they didn’t pick it up, so I called the police and said, “Sorry, we can’t help you. These are not the usual things we provide support.” ”
Another bystander who saw the snake was also concerned, saying the reptile’s health appears to be very poor.
“I was sick,” she said. “The mouth was swollen and I couldn’t open it.”
She found Joseph Hart from Socal Reptile Hunter and helped safely remove the sick animal that appeared to have been thrown into a large plastic container before being thrown into the trash can.
Bystanders said she called several animal control groups that mentioned plans to euthanize the snake.
“I wanted to find someone more caring about animals, so hopefully I could take it and save it and bring it back to health,” she said.
After the snake was safely removed, Sanchez was left with many questions first, including who would abandon Python in that state. It is unknown whether the snake belongs to an apartment resident.
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