When Cassie McFadden’s 4-year-old son told her he saw a snake in a toilet of their Jones County, Texas, home, she almost didn’t believe him.
But the boy wasn’t lying or making up stories, there really was a snake in the toilet. And 23 more all over the property, including five baby rattlers.
Once McFadden killed the first snake, her husband Jason called a snake removal company, which found a total of 23 Western diamondback rattlesnakes in their storm cellar and under the house, according to The Washington Post.
A Facebook post on the snake removal company’s page said that “rattlesnakes are secretive” and that their camouflage helps them hide and survive. “Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
“It was very surprising,” Jason McFadden said. “Kind of gut-wrenching, a little bit, just to know that many snakes were living right under our feet and we didn’t even know it. Literally,” The Washington Post reported.
Nathan Hawkins of Big Country Snake Removal said that the 23 snakes found were released elsewhere and not killed. Hawkins said that snakes get a bad rap, and that he likes them. “The fear that is associated with snakes is ... irrational,” he insisted, The Washington Post reported.
Even though about 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States every year, only about five of those bites result in death, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Only one or two people die in Texas each year on average from venomous snake bites, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Hawkins said that most homeowners won’t ever see snakes even if they are on the property, unless they are hunting rodents or looking for shelter. He said Western diamondback rattlesnakes are likely to be found in groups, rather than alone, The Washington Post reported.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.