Jenna Lees-Rolfe was preparing breakfast in her home when she placed her young son, James, on the kitchen floor.
She said she looked away only for about a minute. When she turned back, a five-foot snake had appeared from under the refrigerator.
She watched in shock as it bit James's shin.
"I saw a five-foot snake right there, next to him, and I screamed," she recalled.
The family moved to Massachusetts from Australia.
Animal control told the family it was a non-venomous milk snake.
The snake most likely got in through the garage and worked its way up through the home's pipes.
A friend who is a doctor checked out the baby and he said he is okay.