A boa constrictor caused panic at a downtown San Diego office when it crawled out of a toilet after apparently slithering down a pipe from an upstairs apartment, an official said on Thursday.

Stephanie Lasca, co-founder of the firm Vertical PR + Marketing, went to use the facilities at her second-floor office on Tuesday and noticed the water level in the toilet was high, so she took a plunger to it, said her co-worker, Holly Wells.

Lasca saw a snake's head peep out from the bottom of the basin, with its tongue flickering out, Wells said. Lasca ran out and called Wells, who was a short distance away. Wells said she opened the door to the bathroom and saw the snake coiled behind the commode.