Family’s nightmare find in kid’s toy room

A Sydney couple were horrified after finding a highly venomous red-bellied-black snake in their daughter’s toy room.

The family were spending morning at home in Picton, in Sydney’s southwest, when the venomous reptile made its way into their house, catching the attention of the family’s two pet Cavoodles.

“The dogs saw the snake slithering in the house and were intrigued. The commotion set off the owners to have a look,” Cory Kerewaro from Reptile Relocation Sydney told news.com.au.

“They got the dogs back and then they saw the back end of the snake slither into the kid’s toy room.”

The couple acted fast, quickly shutting the door and placing a towel underneath to trap the snake in the room, before calling Mr Kerewaro to remove the snake.

A photo shared by Reptile Relocation Sydney online shows the reptile curled up near a pink Barbie pillow, with its head buried in nearby toys.

Fifteen minutes after the family made the call, Mr Kerewaro arrived at the property and delployed the “tailing” method to catch the snake.

“It was pretty straightforward, I walked in and it was curled up in the in the toys there. You couldn’t see his head so it was under something tight and it was dark, so to him (he thought) it was safe and away from trouble.

“I grabbed the last third of the snake, put it the bag and tied it up.”

The snake was then released as per license conditions in New South Wales.

But even with the snake removed Mr Kerewaro said the young daughter was initially “petrified” to enter her toy room afterwards.

“She was pretty scared. So I spent a bit of time there, just giving them a bit education. I showed some photos, and went through everything with them. It made the daughter feel at ease, and made the family feel comfortable again.”

Mr Kerewaro, who has been catching snakes full-time for the last 10 years, said snake call-outs start to ramp up in September, with the start of snake season and continue in “waves” through to the hotter months, before slowing down in April. Red bellied-black snakes are the most common snake call outs he receives.

“In September and October, you’ll find snakes in retaining walls and under concrete slabs and going through yards.

“When it gets too hot in December, that’s when we start to find them in patios, in garages and inside houses because snakes can’t regulate their body temperature,” he explained.

“When it gets hot, they’re looking for somewhere to cool down, they don’t really know it’s a house, it’s just a cooler area to seek refuge. That’s why they end up in those spots.”

As for inside the house, he said snakes will look for anywhere tight and dark to hide.

“I doesn’t matter if it was toys or cardboard boxes on the ground or some clothing, we find them in anything.”

With summer around the corner, the snake catcher advised Aussies who come across snakes in their backyard to remove any pets and children form the area and call a professional to remove it.

“While the catcher is on the way, don’t approach it. A lot of people give bad advice on Facebook (saying) ‘get the hose, or get the shovel’ … all that stuff puts you at risk massively. “If you start to try and interact with it, that’s when people are going to get bitten.”

He also encouraged Aussie to be up to date on snake bite first aid.

“There’s 3000 bites estimated every year in Australia, and only one to two people on average die from snake bites,” he said.

“If you think you might have been bitten, do first aid, ring the ambulance and go to hospital, you’re better spending a couple hours in hospital getting checked over.”

While venomous, red-bellied black snakes are considered one of the least dangerous snakes in Australia and there are no recorded deaths to date because of their bite.

This is despite the fact that they are the most frequently encountered snakes on the east coast of Australia.

“Many bite victims experience only mild or negligible symptoms; however, a number also end up hospitalised,” the Australian Museum says on its website.

“The health risks to children and pets are greater due to their smaller size. As individual reactions to envenomation can vary, all suspected bites should be treated as serious and medical attention sought as soon as possible.”

Two-year-old bitten by brown snake

It comes weeks after a two-year-old boy was bitten by a deadly brown snake in his Adelaide backyard.

Ezra Porter was playing in the backyard of his family’s home in Port Wakefield, about 100km north of Adelaide, when he when he felt a sharp pain in his foot in October.

The young boy quickly ran inside to tell his mother, Miranda Porter, about being bitten by a snake.

“I saw the bite mark, and it was extremely scary to be honest … I asked ‘where did it get you?’ I cried, I was shaking,” Ms Porter told 7News on Monday.

Ms Porter said she immediately ran to see if she could spot what bit her son only to catch a glimpse of an eastern brown snake slither away out of sight.

After an urgent call to triple-0, Ezra was flown to Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

It was a huge relief to everyone when doctors discovered Ezra had suffered from a “dry bite”, which meant no venom had been injected.

Ms Porter said she was so worried her son would die from the bite.

“To have that thought my son is going to die … We’re just about to lose our little man,“ she said.

“There’s no words to describe that.

“We still have our little man. To have him here is a blessing”.

The eastern brown snake is considered the second most toxic venomous snake in the world.

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