Detectives in Clay County, Minnesota, were called out to a storage facility after the manager reported an odor coming from a storage unit. They opened the unit to find 32 dead ball pythons and even some snake eggs. The pythons were placed in the unit in stacked plastic bins.

The owner said he wasn't sure what else to do with the dead snakes. Reports said they may have been in storage since June. Later reports said that all the snakes may not actually be dead, but this story from Valley News Live in Fargo quoted snake enthusiast Devin Hoffie, who said, "You can actually tell a [living] snake. It won't lay there and not completely move, you'll see it moving." The owner was planning to raise, breed and sell the pythons as a business.

We've had sad stories on Renter's Bent about animals found in storage units before. This one includes an animal that gives a lot of people the willies, but all animal lovers – whether they are snake enthusiasts or not – see the tragedy of this story. A Moorhead, Minnesota PetCo employee and reptile expert, Melissa McKay, said, "It made me sick to my stomach; there are other options than storing them in a garage. Know what you are doing before you get one and just because you like them does not mean you need 30 or 50 of them."

Besides knowing the importance of responsible pet ownership, storage renters should never, ever store something living in a unit. Most cities have local shelters that will take in surrendered pets, and animal control can help you with any conundrums you may come across, including how to dispose of dead snakes.