Baby corn snake found near bread at English grocery store

A baby corn snake turned up in an unexpected place last month: the bread aisle of a Heron Foods grocery store in Maryport, England. The snake was found on Aug. 14 and later taken into the care of Pet Encounter, an animal education group based in Workington, Cumbria, according to UPI Odd News. The group named her Crumbs because of where she was discovered. Crumbs is one of 21 snakes Pet Encounter has taken in during 2026, the group said. That compares with 14 snakes received during all of 2025. Animal handler Ben Nicholson told the BBC that rising costs may be contributing to the increase in surrendered or rescued snakes. Keeping the animals requires equipment such as heat mats and heat bulbs, which can add to household energy expenses. Pet Encounter was established as an animal education organization, but the group is considering seeking charity status so it can operate as a rescue organization as well. Nicholson said the group continues to accept animals brought to it. He also said some people buy exotic pets without researching their care requirements. With what he described as another “Harry Potter season” approaching, Pet Encounter is preparing aviaries in anticipation of receiving owls, according to the report.