Three-Metre Python Found in Resident's Ceiling in Sleman, Initially Mistaken for a Gas Leak
A three-metre python was found lurking in the ceiling of a kitchen in a house in Dero, Condongcatur, Depok, Sleman. The presence of the snake was discovered after the homeowner suspected hearing a hissing sound, which she initially thought was a gas leak.
The incident began when the homeowner, named Novitasari, heard a hissing sound from above the ceiling on Saturday evening (16 May) at around 8:30 pm. At that time, she was about to wash dirty dishes and heat some vegetables.
“When I turned on the stove, I already heard a sound, but I thought it was from the gas, but there was no smell of a gas leak,” said Novi when contacted by detikJogja on Sunday (17 May 2026).
She continued, while she was arranging utensils on a shelf, she heard the hissing sound again. At that time, she suspected that a snake had entered the house because there had been a similar incident before.
“I had a bad feeling, I started looking around for the source of the sound but couldn’t find it. Then when I turned back to put the spoon on the shelf above the ceiling which had a hole because there was a snake before, I saw a yellow head,” she said.
Initially, she didn’t realise that what was in the ceiling was a snake. Moreover, at that time she was not wearing glasses.
“I looked at it for about 3 seconds then when I looked at it, it hissed and stuck out its tongue,” she said.
She immediately took her cellphone and immediately contacted the Sleman Regency Fire Department. Shortly after, a team of firefighters arrived at the location and immediately carried out an assessment.
“Upon arrival, the python was on the ceiling,” said Operational Staff of the Sleman Fire Department, Reza Apriyanto.
Reza continued, with evacuation equipment, officers tried to remove the snake from the ceiling. However, officers had difficulty and had to break through the ceiling.
“The position of the snake is on the ceiling, so we have to break through the ceiling to get the snake out,” he said.
The evacuation process took about 35 minutes. Officers finally managed to evacuate the three-metre python.
“We successfully evacuated a python that was in the ceiling of the kitchen, with a length of approximately 3 metres,” he said.
Currently, the snake is temporarily being taken to the Sleman Fire Department Headquarters. The Sleman Fire Department appealed to the public to immediately report if they find venomous or dangerous animals in their residential environment through the available emergency number.