It’s not unusual to find any number of things under the blankets while you’re making up the bed in the morning. Missing socks, a sleeping cat, some spare change, but a highly venomous snake?
Well, that’s precisely what a woman in Queensland, Australia, found when she tried the bed on the morning of Monday, March 20. Zachery Richards, the owner and operator of Zachery’s Snake and Reptile Relocation located in Boonah, Queensland, says the lady who discovered the reptile quickly called for help.
“She said didn’t really want it in [the bed], so she shut the door to the room, put a towel underneath the door, and called me,” Richards told Newsweek.
Richards identified the 6-foot snake as an eastern brown snake. The species is responsible for the majority of reported snake bites in Australia. The eastern brown’s venom has neurotoxin that works to shut down the victim’s nervous system. According to Live Science, eastern brown snakes are considered the second most venomous land snake in the world. If left untreated, their bites can prove deadly to humans. That said, human fatalities are rare largely because the species’ short fangs mean most bites on humans do not impart venom.
Distributed throughout much of eastern and southern Australia, the eastern brown snake often lives near the most densely populated portions of the country. It’s not unusual for people to encounter the snakes in or near their homes. This particular eastern brown snake was discovered in rural Queensland, not far from the Gold Coast. “It was quite a hot day,” Richards told Newsweek. “[The snake] probably came inside looking for some shelter.”
Upon removing the towel from underneath the door, the wrangler found the snake “just lying in the bed having a snooze, but when I disturbed it, it slipped down underneath the bed.”
Although the snake did reportedly “get a little cranky”, Richards removed it without incident. He released the eastern brown snake unharmed onto a parcel of undeveloped and unpopulated bushland.
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Following the successful capture, Richards posted the story on Facebook with a note suggesting people “check their beds carefully.” He said that the homeowner in this case acted appropriately by leaving the snake alone and calling a wildlife professional to safely remove it.
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