CALGARY — It was snakes and ladders — minus the ladders — for Calgary fire crews Wednesday when they rescued what was thought to be an abandoned pet.

Residents of an apartment building in the city’s northwest were suspicious when they heard a splish splash from what was supposed to be an empty suite.

It turns out a 2 ½-metre-long python was soaking in the bathtub and had inadvertently turned on the water.

Six firefighters had to work together to remove the reptile, which weighed about 100 kilograms and had the girth of a firehose.

The snake was loaded into a truck and taken to a vet where it was given a clean bill of health, said Brian McAsey of the Calgary Fire Department.

“The tenant was able to get in touch with us, so there’s been a snake reunion,” McAsey said.

“She was moving out and the last thing to move was the snake. She had put him in the tub and didn’t anticipate he would be clever enough to turn on the water.”

He said the crew that dealt with the reptile didn’t seem to think it was that big of a deal.

“We go to hundreds of calls a year — everything from very stereotypical cat in the tree to someone’s bird getting out or an animal gets behind the wall of a house,” he said.

“So it’s not unusual for us to respond to calls and this is not unprecedented. We’ve been to other snake calls believe it or not. The snake is very friendly. It likes to wrap itself around people and give you a little squeeze but it’s no big deal.”

McAsey joked that this rescue could be fodder for the big screen.

“I’m thinking about optioning it into a movie like ‘Homeward Bound’ ... This would have an eight foot python having to find its way back to its owner.

“Now that’s a movie.”