A snake catcher’s mission to rescue a hatchling from the bowels of a vacuum cleaner in Queensland ended in success as the young snake was brought out dusty and scared – but very much alive.
Drew Godfrey of Hervey Bay Snake Catchers was called to a resort in Eli Waters after the managers said the snake had been sucked up into the appliance while they were cleaning one of the units.
The video, which can be seen in full on the snake catchers’ Facebook page, shows Godfrey first checking to see if the snake remained in the neck of the vacuum, before he pulls out the dust bag and tears it open.
He’s able to pick out the hatchling from the smothering dust and thankfully brings it out wriggling and alive.
Godfrey said it was a young yellow-faced whip snake, a protected species.
“I’m just glad it’s okay, I was afraid we were going to open it up to a dead snake,” he said.
Godfrey told 9news.com.au people were beginning to catch up to the importance and value of snakes to the environment and biodiversity – but there were still myths that needed busting.
“It’s scarier to think of a world without snakes than a world with snakes,” he said.
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“I say snakes aren’t aggressive, they are defensive.”
Spot the snake cuddled up in the veggie garden
Even eastern brown snakes were “shy and timid” – otherwise, he said, people would spot them every time they went bushwalking.
“A snake would see you every time you’re out in the bush,” he said.
He said if people spotted a snake in their home, they were advised to leave it alone and call a snake catcher to deal with it.
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