The ball python discovered in the engine compartment of a Williamsport vehicle may soon have a new home, according to PennLive.com.

“We’ve had a couple of applications for this snake,” said Alyssa Correll, executive director of the Lycoming County SPCA. “The first one that got approved is due to visit on Saturday, so, if that adoption goes through, he might be leaving that afternoon.”

Based on paperwork, the applicant could provide the snake a good home, Correll said, according to PennLive.com, as the applicant has had a snake in the past.

Additional applications will be accepted until the adoption process is finalized in case the applicant decides not to take the snake, Cornell explained.

Most people think of the SPCA as an adoption hub for dogs and cats, but they do occasionally adopt out other, more exotic animals.

“From time to time, we will get snakes, lizards, turtles, fish, that sort of thing in here,” Correll said. “So, we do have experience with them. And in fact, our Kennel manager used to work at Reptiland, so she brings a wealth of knowledge from there to this facility.”

The ball python was discovered last Wednesday by Steven Goehrig, a mechanic at the Bastian Tire and Auto Sales facility on Reach Road in Williamsport, not far from the SPCA shelter, PennLive reported.

“It scared the crap out of me,” he said of when he saw it coiled up on the air box as he was about to inspect and change the oil on a customer’s vehicle.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” he told PennLive. “I thought someone put a fake snake to scare me.”

Another employee jabbed it with a little stick and commented: “That ain’t fake, it’s breathing,” he said.

Kyle Reeder, a service writer, wearing gloves, put it in a box in which a few air holes were cut, PennLive reported.

The snake was taken to the SPCA shelter, and has been in Correll’s office since in a container with a heat lamp and hiding hole. The snake appears healthy and has eaten, Correll told PennLive.

“I love it being in here. It’s a really nice animal. It just hangs out all day and I get to keep my office toasty and warm. So, I’m not complaining,” Correll said.

Ball pythons are one of the most popular reptilian pets in America, second only to the bearded dragon, according to Correll.

“Our kennel manager actually has a bearded dragon in her office, and I have the python in mine, so it’s pretty funny,” Correll said.

Many of the exotic non-native species are acquired by the SPCA due to the animal becoming too big for the owner to handle.

“They’re pet store stuff. People go into a pet store and buy some of that stuff,” Anthony Quarracino, captain for the Bureau of Law Enforcement for the Northcentral Region, Fish and Boat Commission said. “And usually what happens is it’s somebody’s pet that either escaped or they didn’t want it anymore.

“They got rid of it, and that’s against the law. You can’t release something that’s not native to Pennsylvania.”