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'Never do this': Snake catcher's plea after baby snake's excruciating death


WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT: A Queensland snake catcher has shared a confronting video of a baby reptile reeling in pain, as he begs others not to use pest spray on the creatures.

The tiny snake had to be euthanized after a woman mistakenly sprayed it with Mortein, thinking it was a cockroach, according to the expert.

A dying baby reptile is reeling in pain after a woman mistakenly sprayed it with Mortein, thinking it was a cockroach. Source: The Snake Catcher 24/7 Sunshine Coast/Facebook
A dying baby reptile is reeling in pain after a woman mistakenly sprayed it with Mortein, thinking it was a cockroach. Source: The Snake Catcher 24/7 Sunshine Coast/Facebook

The Snake Catcher 24/7 Sunshine Coast’s Stuart McKenzie shared the “very sad and upsetting” video to Facebook on Thursday, to educate the public on the horror that snakes can be forced to endure if they come into contact with pesticide.

“This is very sad and may upset people,” he wrote with the post, apologising for the distressing content of the tiny snake thrashing around in excruciating pain, inside a plastic take-away container.

In the video, he told viewers: “As you can see the poor little keelback is in a fair of pain – he’s twitching, he’s rolling over.

“What’s happened is a lady has mistaken him for a cockroach in her closet and sprayed him with Mortein,” he said, before sighing heavily.

The baby snake had to be euthanised shortly after the video was recorded. Source: The Snake Catcher 24/7 Sunshine Coast/Facebook
The baby snake had to be euthanised shortly after the video was recorded. Source: The Snake Catcher 24/7 Sunshine Coast/Facebook

“Unfortunately she just didn’t see what it was and sprayed him, but this has happened before and people have done it on purpose.”

He said the woman “was very upset” to realise her mistake, so he wanted to share the video to show the public exactly the “horrible” pain snakes can go through if they come into contact with insect spray.

“This has happened before and people have done it on purpose… It’s absolutely disgusting that someone could even think of putting an animal through pain like this.

“A message to anybody out there: please never EVER spray a snake with Mortein or any sort of pesticide,” he begged.

Mr McKenzie said the snake was taken to a nearby wildlife hospital to be euthanised shortly after the video was recorded.

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