I was caretaker at nature camp. A herpetology group came to spend the weekend and I went to the shower house to light the water heater. (You can tell where this story is going.) First get on hands and knees, stick head in cubby, lean way down to guide paper twist to the pilot and see snake draped around the burner. Quick hands and knees retreat. Zip over to the herpetologists saying "There's a snake in the water heater." Mass stampede of reptile enthusiasts to shower house. Slow return. "Did you get it?" asks I. "No" say the experts "It's just a garter snake, it won't hurt you."
They just looked at it, decided it wasn't very interesting and left it curled up on the burner.
I went out with a big stick and hammered on the side of the tank for a while and when I returned later to light the heater, the snake was gone.
Stinky fingers.
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