Snake's 'inappropriate' meal leaves Aussie woman worried
The item looked like an egg, but the reality was much more dangerous.
A cheeky python is lucky to be alive after tucking into an "inappropriate" meal inside a woman’s chicken coop, leaving the reptile with a "tummy ache".
The snake, who snuck into a Queensland chicken coop inadvertently gobbled up two large dummy eggs, made of plaster-of-Paris, used to encourage chickens to lay eggs in a particular spot. The concerned resident shared concern for the python, affectionately nicknamed Monty, who had a visibly swollen belly.
"I believe that my resident water python has consumed at least 2 large plaster-of-paris dummy eggs and maybe some golf balls from my chicken pen," said the woman. "What are its’ chances of surviving or passing this inappropriate meal?"
The woman was inundated with messages urging her to take the snake to a vet straight away since the it was unlikely to be able to pass or digest the fake eggs. She later updated the post to share that Monty had "managed to deal with his own tummy ache."
"After contacting a vet willing to assist, I went to catch the snake and found it uncoiled in the chicken pen," she shared. "It had passed the 2 plaster eggs and was on the move."
Snake’s act "not unusual"
WIRES volunteer Gary Pattinson told Yahoo News Australia that snakes accidentally eating items that resemble eggs such as golf balls and dummy eggs is "well documented". "Every now and again, you'll find snakes that have eaten sort of things that they thought were eggs," he explained.
While snakes have strong digestive systems, they aren't able to break down things like golf balls or fake eggs, leading Gary to believe that Monty likely regurgitated them. "They would have no problem swallowing chicken eggs," he explained. "But once it's been digested, the intestines aren't as capable of managing large objects.
"I've known numerous cases where they've had to surgically remove them. Left to their own devices, they would almost certainly kill the snake," he said. "Even if the the eggs are made of something that will break down, is always far better to get that animal assessed by a vet."
Protect chickens, and you’ll protect snakes too
Gary explained that snake-proofing a chicken coop will not only protect the flock, but it will prevent pests like rats, mice and the snakes that follow them into the enclosure. "Chickens and ducks and any birds in aviaries is like shooting fish in a barrel for a snake, it’s an easy feed," he says.
"There are a number of ways in which people can do things to protect their chickens. And of course, in doing so will protect the wildlife as well," he said. Snake-proof meshing according to Gary is the number one tool.
"If you kind of keep a tidy coop and keep the food pretty much contained within the coop, and you've got that snake-proof mesh, then you won't encourage rats and mice that also can't make it through snake-proof mesh.
"Snake snakes have started to sort of adapt to sort of human habitation and this is why there's quite a bit of sort of confrontation between snakes and people you know, it's not that snakes want to be near people."
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