A rattlesnake slithered out of their toilet. Then they found 23 more.

Flush carefully.

A West Texas family had no idea what was living under their house until something slithered out of the toilet.

Twenty-four rattlesnakes in all were removed from the family’s home north of Abilene. Thirteen adult rattlesnakes were found inside their cellar, 10 underneath the house and one in the bathroom.

The family said they hadn’t seen a snake on their property in years. The one in the bathroom had found an opening in a relief pipe.

Big Country Snake Removal posted about the finding on Facebook.

“It’s actually quite simple; rattlesnake are secretive and can be very cryptic,” the post reads. “They rely heavily on their camouflage. This is simply how they survive. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there....”

In July, a Vernon woman went into her kitchen to find a snake on her counter. She said it tried to escape through a hole underneath her dishwasher, but she grabbed its tail and killed it with a meat cleaver. The next night she found a second snake by her sink; that one bit her. After killing that one and calling 911, authorities determined it was a bull snake.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, the Lone State State is home to “15 potentially dangerous snake species or subspecies.” But it also points out that more Texans die annually from lightning strikes than from bites from venomous snakes.

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This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 7:22 PM with the headline "A rattlesnake slithered out of their toilet. Then they found 23 more.."