It might sound like the punchline to a bad joke, but we're not joking.

Workers at Preuss Pets in Lansing say a woman stole a snake, and how she did it-- well, it's one for the books.

"We've got some great pictures," says longtime employee Jayzun Boget. "It shows her taking the snake out, shoving it down her pants-- it's been the source of endless jokes here."

The video is a little difficult to see, but shop owner Rick Preuss say it's clear she's reaching into the cage and stuffing the snake down her pants. He says the woman had been in the store for some time, staking out the cage.

"In some ways, I wish it were this really big snake going down her pants [so you could see it better]. Instead what you see is a quick view from the camera" of the snake pattern, he says.

They say the snake the woman stole was pretty young, only about six months old. It was too young to be sold. Now, they say they're more concerned about the health and welfare of the snake than prosecuting the thief.

"As long as the snake comes back in a reasonable amount of time, we're not too concerned about prosecuting," Preuss says.

The $175 snake is a boa constrictor that'll grow to be 12 feet long.

"It's deadly serious, we're heartbroken. But there's something imminently funny about a woman sticking a snake down her pants in public," Boget says.

Workers might snicker at how the snake was stolen, but they want it back.