Such was the case in Dicky Beach, Australia, where a homeowner recently discovered a nonvenomous carpet python cradling a clutch of eggs beneath a ledge. (Watch a snake swallow another snake whole.)

Snakes love tight crevices that are difficult for other predators to get into but still have access to sunlight, says Tara Archer, a reptile keeper at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio.

“The soil underneath is probably nice and soft, which makes it easy to move in and out,” says Archer. “And gardens are great places because there are always little critters to eat.”

But most people aren’t keen on the idea of hosting a carpet python nursery on their property—which is why the homeowner called