The third exotic snake caught in the past two months could be just "the tip of the iceberg" for Canberra's illegal reptile trade, according to an invasive species expert.
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Local snake catchers Luke Dunn and Emma Carlson were called out to Scullin shops on Monday night, where a member of the public had stumbled across a young corn snake.
Ms Carlson said the snake appeared to have been dumped, still in its container, and had since been handed over to authorities.
Like the milk snake caught at Braddon McDonald's by the pair earlier this month, corn snakes are illegal in Australia, and native to the Americas, where they are popular pets.
Director of ACT Parks and Conservation Daniel Iglesias said an investigation would take place, but it was likely the snake would be euthanised "as it presents an unacceptable risk to native wildlife".
Last month, a juvenile albino corn snake was captured by Alex Borg, from Canberra Snake Catcher, in Campbell and ACT handlers are now concerned exotic snakes could be being bred locally as well as imported from overseas.
"None of us had ever seen an exotic snake in Canberra before these," Ms Carlson said.
Dr Michelle Christy at the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions agreed the discovery of three snakes in the space of two months was a "huge red flag".
"This could be just the tip of the iceberg, the exotic snake trade is a massive problem," she said.
"If you think about these snakes, they were all outside, so they were all at large, the chances of just opportunistically finding them is really small, snakes are very secretive.
"I would agree there's probably some breeding of corn snakes in Australia."
Since the discovery of the third snake, Mr Inglesias said authorities had made contact with their counterparts in NSW.
"We are currently assessing our options. It is too early to comment further," he said.
A spokeswoman for the federal Department of Environment and Energy said it was concerned by the reports but said there was "currently no evidence to suggest there are people breeding exotic snakes in the ACT and NSW region".
In the territory, exotic snakes can only be kept by zoos or for scientific research. Wildlife trafficking offences carry penalities of up to ten years imprisonment but the illegal trade is a billion dollar industry, with links to drug trafficking.
"Wildlife crime is a worldwide problem which is increasingly recognised as the work of organised criminal syndicates," the department spokeswoman said.
It is also "very, very cruel", according to Dr Christy, who described animals concealed under clothes or mailed over in packages.
Also of concern is the growing underground market for Australian wildlife overseas.
"The Australian government is doing everything it can to detect illegal wildlife trafficking," the department spokeswoman said.
Anyone with information was urged to contact Access Canberra on 13 22 81 or the federal government on 02 6274 1900 or wildlifetrade.compliance@environment.gov.au. To check whether a species is legal in Australia, call 02 62741900.
