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A B.C. teacher who brought a snake into school on Halloween has been suspended for two days.

According to a July 6 B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision, Coquitlam middle school teacher Arthur Owen Sanderson kept a three-foot-long ball python in a pouch around his waist as part of his "post-apocalyptic" costume for Halloween 2021.

The decision says Sanderson didn't ask the school for permission to bring the snake in and the parents weren't informed he was doing so.

It appears having a live snake at school wasn't for everyone.

"One student reported being afraid of snakes and cried upon seeing Sanderson with the ball python," the decision reads.

Another student agreed to wear the snake around their neck not realizing it was real. The student was "alarmed" when the snake began to "slither around."

And it wasn't just the students who weren't keen on having a live snake at school.

During lunch in the school office, Sanderson asked a colleague to put her hand into the pouch, without telling her it contained a snake. The colleague was "unsure what she was touching" and removed her hand.

The snake then appeared with its tongue out and "the teacher ran away."

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The decision says Sanderson went to at least five different classrooms with the snake and brought it into the staff room at lunchtime.

"Sanderson did not provide verbal instruction to students on how to handle the snake, rather he attempted to model how the snake should be handled," the decision says.

The school district later issued a letter of discipline and suspended Sanderson for two days.

In the recent decision, Sanderson admitted to professional misconduct and accepted a reprimand.

"Sanderson failed to model respectful behaviour expected of an educator, and Sanderson's conduct undermined the learning environment," the decision reads.

READ MORE: B.C. elementary school teacher reprimanded for using wrestling moves on students

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