A mother's tryst with venomous reptiles

Close shave

A three-year-old boy in Australia had a lucky escape after his mother removed a box full of seven eastern brown snakes - the world’s second deadliest species - from his wardrobe.

Donna Sim from Townsville in Queensland, Australia received the shock of her life when she discovered a container seething with seven baby snakes in her son Kyle Cumming’s bedroom.

Kyle had found the eggs in their garden several weeks ago, and asked his mother for a container to place them into, Townsville Bulletin reported.
Sim had not thought more of it until she found the container in her son’s wardrobe, full of hatchlings on Monday.

“I was pretty shocked, particularly because I don’t like snakes,” she said.
Fortunately, Kyle had clamped the lid of the container down firmly, and the snakes had not yet grown large enough to push it off and escape.

The family took the snakes to nearby Billabong sanctuary where wildlife carers released them back into the wild.

North Queensland Wildlife Care reptile co-ordinator Trish Prendergast said Kyle was incredibly lucky he did not get bitten.

“He is extremely lucky that his mother found them before he opened up the container and played with them. Otherwise he may not be with us today,” Prendergast said.
The eastern brown snake is considered the second most venomous snake in the world after the inland taipan.

The snakes are extremely aggressive, with their venom responsible for most lethal snake bites recorded in Australia.