'I can’t sleep': Mum almost dies after being bitten by a snake hiding in her bed
A Queensland mum nearly died after being bitten by a venomous snake in her sleep and ignoring the pain as she thought her dog had scratched her.
Nikita Aldridge, 28, from Brisbane, woke up at 4am on December 30 to a sharp pain in her arm and the sound of her five-year-old Maltese Shiatzu, Freckle, barking.
The nurse had two small red puncture marks on her right arm but assumed Freckle had jumped on her and scratched her in the night, so went back to sleep.
But hours later and in excruciating pain, the single mother of one who suffers from lupus, was rushed to hospital where she had a seizure and fell unconscious.
Doctors soon came to the realisation that a slippery visitor had been in bed with her and said if she hadn’t come to hospital when she did she could have died.
Experts have now identified the serpent as a venomous yellow-faced whipsnake – whose bite causes extremely painful swelling – and believe the reptile is still lurking in her house.
“I just couldn't believe it when they told me what it was. The fact that it had been in bed with me. I was freaking out.
“When I came around, I was just in shock.”
Ms Aldridge said she had been filled with fear since the incident.
“Now I have anxiety, nightmares, and I can’t sleep. I jump at everything. If someone touches me I jump out of my skin,” she said.
“There's not much that can be done about snakes coming in to your home but if anyone finds anything they think could be something more severe, they should get it checked.
"I wasn't worried because I'd never experienced anything like this before."
Snake catcher rushes mum to hospital
After initially discounting the small red puncture marks on her arm, Ms Aldridge only started to worry hours later while still at home with her daughter when she became dizzy, her vision blurred and she fell in and out of consciousness.
She posted photos of her arm on social media to ask for advice, and then called her local snake catcher who confirmed she had suffered a snake bite.
The snake catcher rushed her to hospital where she was put on a drip for several hours to flush the venom out of her system before being discharged later the same day.
“When I put the pictures on Facebook, someone said it looked like a snake bite,” she said.
“I still said there was absolutely no way that was the case because I would have felt a snake bite, but at the same time I was really tired and in so much pain.
“I called the snake catcher who came to the house to look for the snake but he didn't have time because he was too worried about me so he performed snake bite first aid.”
Ms Aldridge said the snake catcher searched the home she shares with her two-year-old daughter, but couldn’t find the culprit and believes it is still lurking in the house.
“I keep hearing things behind the oven and the dog keeps barking. I feel so on edge,” she said.
“I’m constantly looking around the house, every time I hear a noise I panic because I’ve got a two-year-old.
w“I’m extremely tired because I’m too scared to sleep.
“But there’s literally nothing we can do about snakes coming into our home and that just terrifies me when I have a two-year-old wandering around.”
Another Queensland resident also got a shock last week when he lifted up his toilet lid and found a snake curled up at the bottom of the bowl.
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