Brian Gundy appealed for the public's help through a YouTube video.

Thieves in San Jose, California, got more than they bargained for when they ran away with a man's bag on Saturday, for inside the bag were five reptiles. Brian Gundy, who runs the Campbell-based educational snake business For Goodness Snakes, wrapped up a presentation at a library on Saturday afternoon and, in the parking area, plopped down his duffel bag with the reptiles about 150 feet from his car.

A minute and a half later, reports KTVU, the bag was gone. It contained four pythons and a specialty lizard valued at $5,000.

"Can you imagine what their emotional response and reaction was when they opened up that bag and saw what they saw?" said Mr Gundy to KTVU.

Mr Gundy ran after a group of people he saw walk by his equipment but couldn't catch them. According to Mercury News, he filed an online report on Sunday afternoon. He says that the snakes in the bag are not venomous and not a threat to anyone who might encounter them.

Piper, Bob and Whitey are ball pythons, while Shorty is a Burmese python. The bag also had a 12-year-old lizard called Stretch. Mr Gundy took to YouTube asking for the public's help in recovering the reptiles:

He says that he does not want to press charges, only get the animals back.

"These are animals that I hatched," said Mr Gundy. "They are my babies."

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