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 disappeared for a year has been reunited with its owner after being dropped into a garden by a crow.

The three-foot-long snake, named Agnus, was found after landing on a garage roof 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.

She put a plastic recycling box over the corn snake, but by the time animal control arrived, Agnus had snuck away.

Inspector John Lawson from the RSPCA was able to capture her and return her to her relieved owner, who has now decided to rehome the snake.

A corn snake that disappeared for a year has been reunited with its owner after being fell into a garden by a crow

An RSPCA spokesperson said: ‘We were called to an area in Spennymoor after reports that a three-foot snake had been spotted in a resident’s garden.

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

‘But when he arrived, the female snake had slithered away and was nowhere to be seen.

‘After a thorough search of the area, a resident spotted the reptile on the roof of a nearby garage, so John responded with a sweeping brush to safely retrieve the reptile.

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

Insp. Lawson said: “I think it was a bit of a shock for the resident when they found a snake in their garden.

“And they’ve done a good job of keeping an eye on it.

‘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 squawking crows around, so I suspect one of them had 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 local resident came by and was absolutely delighted because it was her missing pet from a year ago, called Agnus.

The three-foot-long snake, named Agnus, was found after landing on a garage roof in Spennymoor, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

‘I was amazed that the reptile had survived as long as snakes are unable to produce their own body heat, so they rely on their environment to maintain their body temperature.

‘If snakes get too cold, they may not be able to feed or move normally, and their immune systems won’t work properly to fight disease, meaning the animal can become very sick and often die.’

John took the corn snake to a vet for a check-up and it turned out that she had a respiratory infection from being outside in the cold and was treated for it.

He added: ‘The vet thinks Agnus has gone into hibernation mode, similar to hibernation.

“And her body was disabled to survive.

‘It’s really amazing that she survived this long without heat – and even after a crow decided to try to fly away 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.