By Babatunde Ayedoju

One of the changes that have happened over time is the kind of toilet people use. Gone are the days of pit latrine which was a hole dug where people can answer nature’s call. We are now in the days of modern toilets built in form of water closet (WC), with pipes connecting the WC to the soak-away. The human stool and any other waste disposed in the toilet move from the closet, through the pipe, to the soak-away.
Following the recent release of a viral video on social media about a woman who was purportedly bitten by a snake while trying to use the toilet, there have been several stories and theories about the possibility of snakes hiding inside the water closet (WC) of a toilet and biting an unsuspecting user.
A short video also surfaced showing a man using a kettle to pour hot water into his toilet bowl to avoid snakes. While some members of the public said that hot water does not keep snakes away, others attempted providing solutions to the health threat. One of the so called solutions is that salt can be used to kill snakes hiding inside the toilet bowls.
The Hope spoke with some experts to establish the truth of the matter. According to Professor Felix Akinwumi from the Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, “Any living thing can move anywhere if there is an opening that gives it access. The fear of some people is that maybe snakes may be living inside septic tank, but one shouldn’t expect snakes to be living inside septic tank unless there are broken spots on the pipes or the environment is dirty. The soak-away is hot and doesn’t have enough oxygen that can support life, except cockroaches, probably.”
On whether salt can kill snakes or not, Professor Akinwunmi said, “If you apply salt to any living cell, it can dry up because salt has the tendency to dry up any water there and that will make the cell inactive. It’s not for snakes alone but for every other living organism.”
He warned that people should guard against openings in their environments through which snakes or other reptiles can gain entrance.
The Hope also spoke with a zoologist, Professor Oyedapo Fagbenro from the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), He said, “Many of the stories on social media are fictions that lack scientific evidence I am not an authority on that. First and foremost, snakes are reptiles and they have dry scales. People have been recommending that you use salt. It doesn’t have any effect on them. They are not worms. It is only worms that salt dries up the water on their tissues, making them shrivel and die, but it doesn’t affect snakes and other reptiles.
“Secondly, snakes don’t live inside soak-away. What could have happened was that the snake entered through some broken pipes. Thirdly, snakes appear mostly in unkempt environments. Such environments attract insects, cockroaches and rats. Snakes do feed on rodents. They might have pursued rodents into the holes.”
It also noted, “Another point is that all snakes bite but not all snakes are poisonous. You won’t find the poisonous snakes inside soak-away, because the route of the pipes to the WC is usually convoluted. Also they don’t live inside such a watery environment, though there are some that live inside ponds and rivers.
“Snakes also appear where people rear poultry because they eat the eggs. But snakes generally don’t like to live where there are humans. They may not have good eyesight but they sense temperature and vibration. They run away from vibration once they know it’s beyond their capacity.