Winnipeg man finds 5-foot python in a dumpster

Winnipeg residents were reminded this week that pet pythons are not recyclable, nor welcome in the city's dumpsters.

A resident who was putting out the garbage discovered a snake among the bags on Tuesday, according to the Canadian Press.

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The snake was slithering among broken glass and bits of an aquarium, suggesting it had been someone's pet, according to the Winnipeg Sun. Police are investigating who may have abandoned it.

The reptile, which measured about 1.2 metres in length, was a ball python, a type of snake that enjoys curling up in a ball, according to National Geographic.

The man who found the snake did not appear interested in having it curl up in his lap, however, as he called the police. An officer caught the python in a recycling bin and then left it in the custody of animal services, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.

While a ball python's bite is not poisonous, a stray snake wandering the streets of Winnipeg could have been frightening for residents, police told the media. Not quite as fluffy as a kitten, for example. However, animal services stressed that it was cruel to abandon any pet.

A Winnipeg snake encounter several years ago ended much worse when a man was bitten in the face by a Gaboon viper, according to the CBC. Unlike the ball python, the deadly venom of this snake left the man in critical condition before a dosage of anti-venom could arrive from Toronto.

[ Related: Man vs. Wild producer brandishes horrific snake bite ]

More recently in 2011, a 75-year-old Winnipeg man called police after a black and orange snake emerged from his toilet, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.

Police later discovered the snake came from a nearby apartment where a man was keeping more than 50 reptiles.

Maybe they were just playing a game of hide-and-seek in the city's pipes?