Is that a python in your pocket? Florida man tries to steal snake by stuffing it down his trousers

A bungling thief tried to steal a baby python from a pet shop by stuffing in down his trousers, police in Florida have said.

Travis Treder was captured on CCTV as he opened a cage at the Animal House Pet Center in St Petersberg, Florida, before grabbing a baby coiling python and shoving it into his trousers.

The slippery character was caught out after staff recognised him as the same man behind a pair of similar thefts over the last year, according to Florida news channel WFLA.

Workers blocked the doors and apprehended him - helped by an off-duty security guard who happened to be browsing in the store at the time.

They removed the snake from his trousers and then called in police, who have arrested Treder on suspicion of theft.

Store owner Steve Silk said that they had been primed to act as soon as Treder entered the store.

“We waited on him for probably 15 minutes and then we went into the office to see what he was going to do, and sure enough, he targeted our higher-end snakes again,” he told WFLA.

He said the Treder had probably intended to sell the snake, worth $150, to unsuspecting buyers via the website Craigslist.