Someone's Pet Snake Kept For Over A Decade Was Hiding A Wild Secret

There are around 3,000 different species of snakes globally. With the variety in coloration even in the same species, owners who let the slithering cuties work their way into their hearts are aware of just how unique their pets can be. However, a 2025 discovery of a four-foot-long snake that had been hiding in plain sight for over a decade may be the most unique pet anyone has owned: a whole new species.

Initially found in the late 1980s by Dr. Peter Angenstein, a researcher in the region, the unnamed snake was kept as a pet by Ralf Hörold until it was donated to the Zoological Museum Hamburg in Germany in 2006. At the museum, the specimen eventually caught the attention of researchers Jakob Hallermann and Oliver Hawlitschek, who published a peer-reviewed study in Zootaxa, stating that the snake was a new species: the Broadley's African house snake (Boaedon broadleyi). The snake was named after Donald George Broadley, a British herpetologist and curator at the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, in honor of his extensive studies and work with house snakes in the region. It is identifiable by its olive-colored body with a creamy underbelly and two white marks on the side of the head.

Although it took a long time for the Broadley's African house snake to be recognized as a distinct species, it can be found throughout Ethiopia and inhabits various environments, including savanna, grassland, and woodland. The discovery, though recent, is not surprising given the diversity of snakes in the region.

During the discovery of the Broadley's African house snake, researchers Jakob Hallermann and Oliver Hawlitschek also found another new species, the boaedon subniger, which was written about in the same study submitted to Zootaxa. This discovery was from a single juvenile, which was ten inches long, short, round, and predominantly black. The boaedon subniger was found in northern Somaliland, its only known habitat.

Discovering two new species in rapid succession may seem remarkable. However, certain regions of Africa remain remote and underexplored, making it difficult to obtain a complete picture of the various types of snakes across the continent. Currently, there are over 400 known species of snakes across Africa, including the characteristically unique python snake species and the notoriously poisonous black mamba.

The Broadley's African house snake is currently the most recent new snake species discovery in Africa. Yet, given the large landmass and rich biodiversity, new species may remain to be discovered. Want more stories about remarkable snakes? Check out our article on the largest snake discovered in the world so far.