How Long do you figure a BP could survive with no heat source?

An acquaintance of mine told me that his father's BP (whom he let roam around freely on a rather regular basis) crawled in to the AC/Heating vent. Tried to get it back out, but snakes are better at navigating those sorts of areas better than a human I suppose... Anyway, she was left for dead untill 3 years later she emerged a foot longer and perfectly ok.

This is as the story was told to me, I can't confirm this, nor do I claim it to be 100% accurate, so take of it only what you wish.