A surprising discovery sent shivers down the spines of employees at a New Hampshire Market Basket grocery store over the weekend: a venomous snake hiding within a banana shipment. The unexpected visitor, identified as an ornate cat-eyed snake, prompted a call to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department on Saturday.

Conservation Officer Griffin McKeown, who responded to the unusual call, told WMUR that a store employee, thankfully knowledgeable about snakes, handled the situation initially. The ornate cat-eyed snake, typically found in Ecuador, a major banana exporter to the U.S., is mildly venomous. This incident marked a first for McKeown, who stated that while he's dealt with surrendered pet snakes like ball pythons, he'd never encountered a venomous snake in such a context.

Possessing venomous snakes, excluding the hog-nosed snake, is prohibited in New Hampshire. After confirming the snake was unharmed, authorities transferred it to Rainforest Reptile Shows Inc., located in northern Massachusetts, ensuring the reptile received appropriate care. Neither Market Basket nor the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department offered immediate comments when contacted by Fox News Digital.