SoCal man finds rare 7-foot snake hiding in his couch

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KABC) -- There are some things you expect to find in the cushions of your couch - loose change, maybe even a stray potato chip. But for one Southern California man, he made a terrifying discovery.

Alex Trejo, owner of So-Cal Rattlesnake Removal, uncovered a massive snake hiding in someone's couch in the San Diego County city of Chula Vista.

"This guy calls me, he's pretty frantic, and he's like 'There's a snake in my couch,'" Trejo recalled.

Trejo gets calls like that all the time, but even he was surprised by what he found.

"I literally lift the cushion and there is this giant 7-foot Vietnamese blue beauty rat snake just coiled up right behind the cushion," Trejo said. "You would be more lucky to find a Rolex sitting on the ground than you would a snake like this."

The snake can grow to be up to 8-feet long.

Trejo says wrangling the snake wasn't an easy task, but it's not venomous - just a bit defensive sometimes. Video showed the snake almost bite Trejo.

He says it is legal to own these snakes, so it's probably a pet that got loose and ended up slithering into the home.

The snake thrives in tropical weather and being outside of a controlled climate for a few days apparently took a toll on it. Trejo says the snake now has a respiratory infection.

It's being cared for now by someone experienced with exotic snakes, Trejo said.

"We really are keeping our fingers crossed hoping the snake makes it," Trejo said.