Here's The Real Story Behind Kim K's Super Creepy & Confusing Louis Vuitton Snake Photo

Baby gear, a Birkin bag, a dress by Balmain. Designers have customized all kinds of things for the mogul mom-of-three, but some fans think that Kim Kardashian's Louis Vuitton snake has taken tailor-made luxe branding a little too far.

On Mar. 6, Kardashian posted a picture on Instagram that appeared to show off a new member of the Kardashian-West clan. Curled up in the palm of a hand, "Little Louis" — as he's dubbed in the caption — is a snake. But not just any snake, of course. Little Louis is a chocolate brown snake with an iridescent tint, and seemingly stamped with Louis Vuitton's famous floral monogram pattern all down the top of his body.

Some fans thought it was pretty or simply laughed it off, seemingly not at all surprised by Kardashian's custom pet. "Extra af," wrote one user. A few Taylor Swift trolls popped up in the comments, too, assuming it was some kind of dig at the pop star. Other fans were more concerned with whose non-manicured hands were holding the snake — "Lol those nails tho," "These are definitely not kims fingers" — because there's no way any of the Kardashian-Jenners would be caught dead without their nails did — so, valid question.

An overwhelming number of comments, however, came from animal rights activists, who immediately tagged PETA and called out Kardashian for animal cruelty. "Kim I love you but if you actually did this to an animal that’s pretty crummy," wrote one fan. "Meh not a fan of this, sends the wrong message!!! Animals are not fashion, and shouldn’t be used in such ways!!!" wrote another. "Why don't you do the same on your skin @kimkardashian? Then you'd know how that poor snake feels!" asked a user.

Turns out there's no reason for fans to freak, though. The snake doesn't even belong to Kardashian, and the Louis Vuitton branding is just an experiment with Photoshop. (To be fair, there were plenty of fans who came to this conclusion on their own in the comments.)

The original photo of the snake that Kardashian called "Little Louis" belongs to a Denmark-based user called @biggreptilesdk, who boasts more than 27,000 followers. Kardashian doesn't appear to be one of those followers, so it's unclear as to how she stumbled upon the photo to begin with. Perhaps her love for Louis Vuitton led her to it via Instagram Discovery? The world may never know.

As you might imagine from the Denmark dude's handle, his entire feed is filled with snakes — big ones, small ones, a close-up of one eating a mouse that now I can't unsee. The account posted the controversial picture in question back in December 2017, with a caption that asked followers, "Which photo do you all prefer? Original or #LouisVuitton #photoshopedit." He even credited the person who made the actual Instagram edit.

Speaking of which, Kardashian could have easily avoided all this controversy in the comments if she'd tagged and/or credited the guy who posted the picture in the first place. Again, though, there's really no way to know where she found the photo, but it's probably safe to assume that she didn't see this drama coming.

Animal activists, loyal Swifties, and Kardashian fans alike can all sleep easy tonight, because it looks like the case of the designer snake is officially closed. (We may never know, however, who those hands holding the snake belong to — but at least we know they definitely don't belong to Kardashian.) "Little Louis" and all of his faux-branded iridescent glory just appears to be another part of the mogul momma's well-curated Instagram aesthetic.