Did you missss me? Corn snake who vanished for a year is reunited with her owner after being dropped by a crow and found on a garage roof

A corn snake that went missing for a year has been reunited with its owner after a crow dropped it in a garden.

The meter-long snake, named Agnus, was found after it slithered onto the roof of a garage in Spennymoor, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

The corn snake was first spotted by a shocked woman who discovered it in her garden on March 18 and alerted the RSPCA.

He put a plastic recycling box on top of the corn snake, but by the time the animal charity arrived, Agnus had escaped.

RSPCA Inspector John Lawson was able to catch it and return it to its relieved owner, who has now decided to rehome the snake.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We were called to an area in Spennymoor after reports that a meter long snake had been seen in a resident’s garden.

‘Insp John Lawson was sent to the scene after the shocked owner said the reptile was under a plastic recycling box.

But when he arrived, the female snake had slithered away and was out of sight.

‘After an extensive search of the area, a resident spotted the reptile on top of the roof of a nearby garage, so John went to the rescue using a brush handle to safely retrieve it.

“And then it was discovered that the corn snake was actually a pet that had been missing for about a year.”

Inspector Lawson said: “I think it was a shock to the resident when they found a snake in his garden.

‘And they did the right thing by trying to police him.

“But they are great escape artists and the pet soon managed to slip away.”

He added: “I had no idea where she had gone until someone saw her on the roof of the garage.

“There were a lot of crows cawing around, so I suspect one of them picked up the snake and then dropped it when they realized they had bitten off more than they could chew.

‘After I rescued the snake, a resident who lived nearby came and was absolutely delighted because it was his year-long missing pet named Agnus.

“I was surprised that the reptile had survived while snakes are not able to produce their own body heat, so they depend on their environment to maintain their body temperature.

“If snakes become too cold, they may not be able to feed or move normally, and their immune system will not work properly to fight off disease, meaning the animal can become seriously ill and often die.”

John took the corn snake to a vet for a checkup and it was discovered that she had a respiratory infection from being outside in the cold and was treated for this.

He added: ‘The vet believes Agnus had gone into brumation mode, similar to hibernation.

And his body had shut down to survive.

“It’s really amazing that she survived this long without heat, and that she also survived after a crow decided to try to fly with her.”

Corn snakes are not venomous and are not considered a threat to humans. They feed on small rodents and birds and are native to North America.