Call it Delta s-s-s-Sonic: 5 pythons found in a month near Amherst car wash

Finding another one in just about the same spot four days later.

The back-to-back serpentine encounters remain a mystery to Amherst police and to the SPCA Serving Erie County, which publicized them last week.

But the unusual events go back further.

In fact, three other ball pythons – two dead and one living – previously turned up at or near this Delta Sonic at Niagara Falls Boulevard and East Robinson Road, Gina Lattuca, an SPCA spokeswoman, said for the first time Monday.

This makes five pythons in a month.

SPCA officials have developed a number of theories to try to explain this odd chain of events but, so far, say they don’t know exactly why the snakes ended up where they did.

“The situation is probably as unique as the snakes themselves,” said Lattuca, adding she can’t recall this happening before in her 33 years with the agency.

The two most recently discovered ball pythons are staying at the SPCA in West Seneca for now as the agency figures out what to do with them if no one claims them, Lattuca said. Ball pythons are considered good starter pets for would-be snake owners, but can cost thousands of dollars to purchase.

Amherst police responded to the two latest python sightings at the Delta Sonic at 3100 Niagara Falls Blvd.

The first came from a Delta Sonic employee at about 8:10 p.m. on Aug. 14, Amherst Police Capt. Kevin Brown said.

Animal Control Officer Cyndi Griffin and other officers found the snake curled up next to a hose in an outdoor area of the car wash and gas station complex.

Photos posted to the Amherst Police Department’s Facebook page show Griffin holding the snake with one hand and, later, the snake sitting in a cardboard box.

Animal control took the snake to the SPCA in West Seneca the next morning.

An assistant veterinarian gave the ball python – so named because of their tendency to curl into tight balls – a soak in warm water, the SPCA…