A reptile expert caught 45 baby snakes recently that were hiding under a bathroom floor in eastern India.

Purnachandra Das from Snake Helpline was called to the home in Bhubaneswar in Odisha state where he dug up the floor and found a clutch of recently hatched eggs.

He combed the area for several hours and collected a total of 45 baby checkered keelbacks.

Das released the tiny reptiles shortly afterwards in a nearby lake.

"Checkered keelbacks are harmless and can lay up to 90 eggs. The female guards the eggs up to two months and leaves just before they hatch," said Subhendu Mallik from Snake Helpline.

A resident of Bhubaneswar in eastern India went to use his bathroom on April 9 and saw three baby snakes slithering near his feet.

He fled in fear and called Snake Helpline. which sent a rescuer, Purnachandra Das, to the spot.

Purna found a very narrow gap between two tiles in the middle of the bathroom through which the snakes had come up. When he tapped the tiles, a hollow sound indicated some empty space underneath.

When Purna got the floor of the bathroom dug up, he found a clutch of hatched eggs and a few Checkered Keelback baby snakes. He and another member of Snake Helpline combed the debris patiently and rescued a total of 45 baby snakes though their mother could not be found anywhere.

After the rescue work that lasted for more than 5 hours, the rescued snake babies were released at nearby lake.

Subhendu Mallik, general secretary, Snake Helpline said: “The mother snake may have found a passage and safe place to lay eggs under the bathroom floor due to faulty construction design. Checkered keelbacks are harmless and can lay up to 90 eggs. The female guards the eggs up to two months and leaves just before they hatch.”