A snake that terrified hotel guests after crawling out of a loo has found a new home in a zoo after spending months in an animal shelter.

The venomous-looking reptile was discovered peering out of a toilet bowl in Vienna, Austria, in November 2023.

It was finally identified as a kingsnake, a non-venomous constrictor that mimics the appearance of venomous snakes to scare off predators and can be five feet long.

Experts fished out the snake and took it to animal welfare experts at Tierschutz Austria which has spent 18 months searching for a new home.

The snake is believed to have escaped from its owner's home and slithered down the loo into the city sewage system before popping up in the hotel.

Picture shows the snake that crawled out of a hotel toilet in Vienna's 22nd district, Austria, undated. Tierschutz Austria published a list of recommendations on how to behave if you find a snake in nature, in the garden or even in a toilet. Note: Photo with permission. (Tierschutz Austria/Newsflash)

Now the snake, with its new name Chloe, has been rehomed at the Reptilienzoo in Salzburg, a small zoo specialising in snakes and reptiles.

Although not dangerous, Chloe is being used by the zoo as an educational example of how some harmless snakes imitate more dangerous species.

Tierschutz Austria also released safety advice for anyone who might come across a snake in nature, in gardens, or in loos.

(MJ Leidig/newsX)