Jill Ferenc, a nanny, holding Lilia. Ferenc says she’s seen snakes slithering through the patio. (Credit: Steve Miller/WBBM Newsradio)

CHICAGO (CBS) — Snakes in the city of Chicago? Yes, they are here.

They usually keep out of sight. However, not at one Ravenswood townhouse complex, as WBBM’s Steve Miller reports.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Steve Miller Reports

Just north of Lawrence near the Metra tracks, Jill Ferenc is a nanny caring for a 17-month-old.

One day she looked out the window at the patio.

“And saw all these little things rustling through the leaves,” she said. “And I didn’t know what it was at first.

“Lilia’s mom came home and said, ‘They’re snakes. Just watch out.’ And I was freaked out.

“Apparently one of the neighbors one got in their house. So if you open your patio door and you don’t close it quick enough, they want to get in where it’s warm.”

Jason Hood, the president of the Chicago Herpetological Society, says he was surprised to hear about the snakes at the townhouses.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Hood said. “To me it was good news that they’re able to survive.”

Hood says snakes found here are not poisonous.

The snakes may have been living along the Metra tracks and were displaced after work began on the North Line.