Venomous snake interrupts birthday party days after bizarre find in bedroom
One snake expert has an unsettling theory as to how the snake found itself inside an Aussie home.
A Sydney man was cheering on his footy team on Sunday afternoon when he suddenly noticed something that made his “heart skip a beat”. Chilling beneath his TV was a creature that made him jump out of his seat so quickly he banged his leg.
"There was a snake just looking at me," Ryan recalled to Yahoo News Australia. "I fell over and then ran outside."
It was his 24th birthday and friends were beginning to arrive, expecting to enjoy a drink before they headed out to a Coldplay concert. Instead, they were soon watching through the window as the snake slithered under his amplifier.
A week earlier, the 24-year-old had noticed something odd lying on the floor of his upstairs bedroom. “I found a snake skin on the floor. I called my mate who is a vet and he told me to put on boots and long pants,” Ryan said.
Concerned for his safety, he then rang a snake expert, and his mind was quickly put at ease. Because the skin was upstairs, it was most likely from a harmless green tree snake which enjoys climbing, rather something venomous as they prefer to stay close to the ground.
“When I called him back on Sunday and said it was a red-belly black snake, he was a bit shocked,” Ryan said.
While red-bellied black snakes are venomous, there are no records of anyone dying from a bite. However, its venom has been known to have long-term health effects, as it can impact internal organs and our sense of taste.
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How long had the snake been in the house?
After Rob Ambrose, the Sydney Snake Catcher arrived, Ryan’s fear quickly subsided and it was clear the snake was just 80 cm long. “He was able to just grab it with one hand,” Ryan said. “I could see it was a friendly snake — it was just scared and hiding.”
For three weeks, Rob had been aware of the exact snake Ryan found in his home. There had been another sighting of the reptile in the eastern suburb of Malabar — just over the fence at a school — but by the time he arrived, it was gone. And he'd then heard about the snake skin in Ryan's bedroom.
Rob was perplexed at how it ventured upstairs, but he has a slightly unsettling theory as to how it occurred. He believes it hitched a ride with Ryan.
“It’s so unusual. But the way I’ve seen this happen before is people sit their bag of washing by the clothesline, the snake goes inside and then it’s carried upstairs,” he said.
“Unlike pythons, getting to the second level or into your roof is a last resort for terrestrial snakes because more often than not they will try and escape your house another way.”
Is it rational to be afraid of snakes?
It’s common for people to be afraid of snakes. However bites are rare, and in Australia only one or two people die from them every year.
Sydney-based psychotherapist Tim Thornton is an expert in helping clients overcome phobias and in some cases a fear of snakes can stem directly from a lived experience.
"I've got a client at the moment who's going through trauma. She went on a holiday to India and her brother got bitten by a snake and died," he told Yahoo News.
But in most cases, the dread is likely a trans-generational hangup that's stoked by fables and superstitions. “We’ve learned this over time. In many cultures, snakes are maligned. Take Medusa she had snakes instead of hair,” he said in reference to the Greek legend.
Tim also thinks there’s an instinctual learned behaviour to stay clear of snakes because they are venomous, and this isn't only limited to humans. “I’ve got two cats and when they’re outside if they see a stick on the ground, they’ll jump up on their back legs to get a better perspective. They’ll be very suspicious about it because they’ll think it’s a snake. They’ll go up and investigate, prod it a bit, and then they’ll know it’s okay,” he said.
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While snakes can pose a danger, snake catcher Rob believes the fear we have of them needs to be put in perspective. For instance, many more people in Australia are killed by horses and cattle.
Australia has become legendary for its dangerous creatures and that alone can stoke fear, particularly among travellers. The nation is home to some of the world’s most venomous snakes – including the inland taipan and the eastern brown snake – but most of them would prefer to be left alone.
The overwhelming majority of people harmed by snakes are men who chase, attack, move, or attempt to kill them. So if there's one in your home, the best approach is to keep your distance and call a professional for help.
Snakes probably have more to fear from humans than we do of them. Most of Sydney used to be home to a variety of snakes, but as the basin has become urbanised they've been unable to survive.
Rob performs a public snake show in the suburb of La Perouse which sits adjacent to Malabar. And that's the only place you'll see most species in the east these days.
"There are records from the 1940s of people catching tiger snakes, brown snakes, red-bellies, and even death adders in the wild. There were a lot of different species that have just disappeared," Rob said.
"Now it's just the red-belly that lives on."
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