Colorado woman takes trip of a lifetime, but calls the authorities over a surprise in her suitcase: ‘This is a nighmare’

Imagine this: You’ve just returned from vacation in Costa Rica, when you open your suitcase and find a slithery, venomous snake waiting for you inside it.

This very thing happened recently to a University of Colorado Boulder student and TikTok creator, S🅰️mi (@_samipaige), and she shared the experience in a post that has now been viewed nearly 500k times.

The text overlay on the short clip reads,

If you’re having a bad day, just know I somehow brought a f—king snake back from Costa Rica in my bag and animal control still isn’t here after an hour and a half.”

via @_samipaige, TikTok

She captioned the post, “Simply had to main this. Craziest thing to ever happen to me 😆 (highly venomous Costa Rican pit viper btw 🫰).”

She mentioned in follow-up videos that she had left her suitcase open on the floor of her accommodations in Costa Rica. The snake likely crawled in seeking a dark, tight space to hide during the day.

What are slender hognose pit vipers?

According to the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, which stepped in to help, S🅰️mi’s scaly friend was indeed a slender hognose pit viper, a small but highly venomous snake species found in the rainforests of Costa Rica and other parts of Central America. Recognized for its distinctive upturned snout, which it uses to root through leaf litter for prey, the snake typically inhabits lowland forests and humid environments where it camouflages easily among fallen leaves.

Despite its modest size, the slender hognose pit viper possesses potent hemotoxic venom. The species is primarily nocturnal and generally avoids human contact. Though rarely fatal, human bites can occur if the snake is accidentally stepped on or handled, making it one of several “medically significant” pit vipers native to Costa Rica.

Once the snake was removed from S🅰️mi’s suitcase, authorities “rehomed” the stowaway at the Denver Zoo, where it will live with other members of its species, after a quarantine period to ensure it carries no dangerous pathogens or parasites that might hurt the other vipers.

So, the snake and S🅰️mi are fine. Still, she got quite a shock, and her comments section offered its support. One said, “As someone who doesn’t immediately unpack when I get back from a trip this is a nightmare 😭.” Another added, “How tf did the airport not find it?,” and also, “I just know someone saw that and just said ‘nope not opening that.'”

Wildlife stowaways are more common than you think

Incredibly, this isn’t the first wildlife stowaway Denver authorities have dealt with. In June 2024, a surprise stowaway dubbed the “Halloween crab” was discovered aboard a flight that landed at Denver International Airport from Costa Rica when a colorful black‑and‑red land crab was found in the main cabin.

The unusual crustacean, also called a moon crab because of its nocturnal habits, was rescued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife and later transferred to the Denver Zoo, where it was quarantined and eventually placed on public display in the Tropical Discovery exhibit. The animal’s striking Halloween‑like hues made it a seasonal hit with zoo visitors, according to Colorado Public Radio. So, pro tip: travel experts say always zip your bags in tropical climates.