Gold Coast man's shock to find python devouring magpie hanging from veranda

A Queensland man was shocked to find a massive python devouring a magpie as it hung from a mate’s Gold Coast veranda.

Shane Raddatz was tucking into a few drinks last Friday night at their neighbour's house when his wife noticed the gory sight.

The diamond carpet snake was dangling from the roof of the front verandah, eating the fully-grown bird, according to the Warwick Daily News.

Mr Raddatz said his residence backs onto a reserve, so he was used to seeing snakes and other wildlife on his property, but this sight was something else.

"In all honestly, I crapped myself. It was a bit of a shock," he told the newspaper.

"We'd seen them around but we'd never seen anything that big. It's the first time we saw it do what it did."

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The surprised neighbour said he didn’t dare go near the reptile, but called a snake catcher, who had to wait about 20 minutes for the serpent to finish its meal before intervening.

Mr Raddatz said he wasn’t too worried about finding the reptile, but he did fear for the safety of his pets, noting a neighbour's cat had not been seen since disappearing six months ago.

Donnie Guerin of The Snake Catcher 24/7 told 7 News Online pets were at greater risk of a snake attack than humans were, given their curious nature.

“Pets are the biggest concern. We are aware of what snakes are, but pets are quite curious,” he said.

The Sunshine Coast snake catcher said snakes weren’t aggressive by nature, but are more defensive if provoked.

“If backed up against a corner, their first instinct is to flee,” Mr Guerin said, adding pets sometimes tormented snakes, which caused them to react defensively.