A 5-foot long royal python was found coiled around a boiler at a north London property. The homeowner was "startled" after spotting the massive reptile.

Local media reports said the brown and gold snake was confined by police officers after they were alerted.

"Is anyone missing a large snake? We have one at Islington Police Station," the force wrote on their Twitter account, adding that the reptile was released "without charge" and collected by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The charity confirmed it is caring for the snake at its Putney Animal Hospital.

"We're not sure who owns the Royal Python but he is in good condition so could have escaped from his home, and gravitated towards the cozy boiler cupboard to keep warm," RSPCA animal collection officer Lisa Miller said, according to BBC.

Miller added that the reptiles can gravitate toward heat sources if they find themselves outside the safety of their heated tanks, known as vivariums.

"He is shedding a little bit of skin," she said.

Reticulated pythons, which are the longest snakes in the world, can grow up to 30 feet in length in the wild, according to the RSPCA. These reptiles are non-venomous but kill their prey by squeezing them and suffocating them. They feast on mammals and birds but can also eat larger prey such as pigs or deer.

python
This representational image shows a python on a tree inside his enclosure at the Dhupguri snake park in India, Feb. 8, 2006. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
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