Maine landlord finds 19 tarantulas and a python left behind by apartment tenant

• An unidentified tenant left nearly two dozen tarantulas and a python after vacating the apartment.
• The landlord discovered the animals on September 1 and called animal rescuer Drew Desjardins.
• Tarantulas and pythons are illegal to own in Maine.

A Maine landlord discovered 19 tarantulas and one python left behind by a tenant who vacated the apartment.

Animal rescuer Drew Desjardins wrote on Facebook that he was called out to the Auburn apartment on Wednesday by the "nervous" landlord. Desjardins found that four of the 19 tarantulas had died and the python was without water when he arrived.

He shared photos of the tarantulas and python on his Facebook page. Desjardins said he collected the surviving animals back to his home, where they're currently "doing well."

"Never a dull moment in my world," Desjardins wrote on the post, where users applauded his efforts. Desjardins, owner of Mr. Drew and His Animals, Too, told WGME that tarantulas aren't as vicious as films portray them.

"The movies show them as being these indestructible creatures that will just come at you if you step on them and jump on people and attack them and run after you and that's not true," he told the outlet. "Very shy and delicate. If I took out this tarantula right now and dropped it on the ground, it's going to break like an egg and die."

The Associated Press reported that the recovered animals are illegal in Maine and will be located out of the state. It's not clear if authorities will seek the tenant.