A massive red belly black snake has been caught after lurking in a Queensland loungeroom.
A resident in Maleny, on the Sunshine Coast, spotted the thick, long snake in her loungeroom and immediately called Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers.
Stu McKenzie, owner of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, arrived and carefully pulled the snake from its hiding spot entwined around a lamp and power cables to hold it up and show its bulky body.
He estimated the snake is around eight or 10 years old and admired how calm it was during the catching process.
“What a beautiful snake this was! Notice how the snake was so calm and didn’t feel threatened at all,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie then released the snake into the bush.
McKenzie told 9news.com.au that despite the snake’s girth, it isn’t the biggest red belly black snake he’s ever caught.
“Yeah, I’ve caught bigger,” he said.
But he added it’s rare to see red belly black snakes that big inside homes.
“We do catch red bellies inside from time to time, it’s rare they’re that big,” he said.
As for the resident who had the invited guest, McKenzie said she was nervous but quite relaxed as she was about to have a friend over for a girls’ weekend.
“She was about to have a friend visit for a few days, you know cheese and biccies for a girls’ couple of days, which made her pretty relaxed,” he said.
With the weather warming up and hopefully drier days on the way, there are more snakes on the move and McKenzie said they may find themselves in homes.
He urged anyone who finds a snake inside their home to call a snake catcher and not to try and remove it themselves.
“If it’s inside your house, don’t try and catch it that’s how people get bitten,” he said.
