LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — A snake recently bit a female inmate at the Lexington County Detention Center.
Lexington County deputies say a non-venomous rat snake was being kept as a "pet" in the female pod.
One of the inmates was bitten by the snake, deputies confirmed.
The woman bitten by the snake was treated on-site by the detention center's medical staff. Deputies say the injury was minor, and the inmate is doing well.
"I don't think it's odd that somebody in that situation would try to find a means of agency or autonomy by finding something that could be a pet," Lexington resident Katie Coleman said.
Coleman said she was shocked to learn the news but not surprised, and neither was Lexington resident Bill Manley.
"I'm not all that concerned that they said they had a 'pet snake,'" Manley said. "A snake is gonna show up."
We contacted Lexington County Sheriff's Department, which oversees the detention center.
While they declined an interview, a spokesperson did provide us with more information, saying pets aren't allowed, and they don't know how the snake got into the facility or the length of time it was there.
"It's a random thing and, while we're mindful of it, no procedures will be changed. and there will be no disciplinary action for the inmate who was bitten," the spokesperson said.
Retired wildlife biologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Steve Bennett says these snakes go where rats and warm-blooded prey are. Still, he's also not shocked a person was bitten.
"Each animal is different. Sometimes these guys are very docile and you can pick one up and hold them for a while. The problem with, especially rat snakes or wild caught rat snakes like this one probably was, that maybe it tolerates you holding it for a while."
We contacted the South Carolina Department of Corrections. A spokesperson said nothing in their detention center standards addresses inmates keeping pets.
Officials say the snake was taken to the fence line and released.