Deadly snake found inside Sydney man's bed: 'Bloody terrifying'
A deadly intruder has made itself right at home after it was found tucked up in bed at a Sydney home on Thursday.
Australian Snake Catchers shared pictures of one of their recent relocations — a red-bellied black snake pulled from between the sheets at a Kellyville home in the city's northwest.
Snake catcher Sean Cade told Yahoo News Australia the homeowner had returned to his property in the evening to find the snake on the kitchen floor.
By the time Mr Cade was at the scene, the snake was slithering up the bedside table and into the homeowner's bed.
Mr Cade said it was a "straightforward rescue", however, he admitted it was a bit out of the ordinary.
"It's just an unusual situation where it's on the bed, they don't often go on the bed, obviously," he laughed.
"Because they're normally going to go under something or hide under something as a general rule, but it's a little bit of a different one."
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The snake likely came inside the home to cool down, after a relatively hot day in the sun, which Mr Cade said was important for the snake to do so, as they are ectothermic.
Mr Cade said the snake likely came in through the screen door, to cool down on the tiles.
Urban development to blame for uptick in snake sightings
Mr Cade said urban development was a "massive issue" because humans are encroaching on their habitat.
"With the violent nature of the excavators, vibrating the earth, all the snakes and reptiles and birds and frogs and all that disperse outwards," he explained.
"Once the development is then finished, and there's homes or an industrial area, or whatever the case may be, they [the animals] tend to gravitate back to their natural place of where they used to live.
Sprawling development has also caused a dilemma for snake catchers, who relocate snakes.
Mr Cade explained he has 20km to drop the snake off, but he doesn't want to take a snake too far away from where it was found, as by doing so might offset the balance in that area.
"The snake might be a healthy animal, and I might take it to an area that's got a genetic problem, disease problem or an infestation of bugs," he explained.
"On the other hand, I don't want to take a compromised animal to a clean area, because it has the same effect. It's getting harder and harder for us as catchers to actually release these particular animals."
Mr Cade's advice is to learn to live with snakes and be wise when you cross paths with one.
He said if you see one in your backyard to keep pets and children away from it, to keep an eye on it and some distance while you wait for a professional to remove it.
Snakes are "purely defensive creatures", Mr Cade said, adding that most snake bites happen when someone is trying to catch or kill a snake.
Some people were terrified of the thought of a snake inside the homeowners bed.
“That’s just bloody terrifying,” one person remarked on Facebook, but Mr Cade insists they're really not that bad.
"If they are such an evil creature, the medical fraternity wouldn't use a snake as their logo," he said.
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