Gold Coast snake catcher Tony Harrison called to Ashmore coathanger

A GOLD Coast snake catcher has received some memorable call outs over the years, but this recent job is more bizarre than venomous. He reveals the strangest call outs he has received during his snake catching career. SEE THE VIDEO

GOLD Coast snake catcher Tony Harrison has wrangled some dangerously venomous snakes in his time, but today at Ashmore he was faced with a not-so-dangerous foe.

Mr Harrison was on his way back from another job when he was called to a house in Ashmore.

The local resident had trapped what he thought was a snake — which ended up being a small shoe hanger.

“That’s the first coathanger I’ve ever been called to,” Tony said.

“I can add that to the list of call-outs.”

“This happens more often than you know, but it was a case of better safe than sorry.”

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Gold Coast snake catchers Tony and Brooke Harrison respond to a coat hanger call-out at Ashmore. Photo Supplied

Today’s call-out is just one of many cases of mistaken identity where everyday household items were thought to be the slippery serpents.

“I’ve been called to a dog poo, a pile of used condoms, three or four radiator hoses and at least 20 sticks,” he said.

“There was a dead cat, a dead rat, a pair of thongs, a steering wheel cover, scuff marks from a boot, dog leads laying on the ground.”

He said he had one person adamant there was a snake in the roof.

“We got up there, there was a giant pink dildo up there,” he said.

“Another one, an elderly man was selling a motorhome and said he had seen a snake skin in it — called us to ask what the chances of the snake still being there.

COAST SNAKE CATCHER REMOVES TWO PYTHONS FROM CEILING

Gold Coast snake catchers Tony and Brooke Harrison respond to a coat hanger call-out at Ashmore. Photo Supplied

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“We went and had a look, and there was a pile of used condoms. I just said I’m not touching that one. I’d asked him who had accessed the van. Eventually his wife had yelled out ‘have you caught it darling? All he could say was, it’s all under control.

“He was dying of embarrassment.”

Mr Harrison said at least once a month he was called out to a snake sighting, that wasn’t actually a snake.

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Gold Coast snake catcher Tony Harrison caught this Californian King snake after three years. Photo Facebook

“I can understand a lot of it,” he said.

“There’s certain trees — the umbrella tree, that has long branches and drops a stick with a certain pattern. It looks like a snake.

“What I say to people if they can, take a photo and send it to us. We can save them the embarrassment if it’s not a snake.

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Tony and Brooke Harrison catching snakes. A carpet python. Photo: Facebook

“But by doing that we can also try to identify the snake, plenty of people see snakes they think are harmless pythons, when in actual fact it’s a deadly snake, or vice versa.”

He also said Hollywood had wreaked havoc on Gold Coasters, with many mistaking household items for snakes.

“People see a film like Snakes on a Plane and it plays on their mind, the first thing they see, it might be a dog lead, but to them it's a snake.”

While sometimes Mr Harrison has had a laugh, he said there was a serious side to his job. Just an hour after he removed an eastern brown snake from a property at Oxenford.

He said this past week has been his busiest ever in winter, and urged locals to be wary.

“I’m attending to three or four a day at the moment,” he said.

“It’s about 23-24 degrees, as opposed to the normal 19-20. There’s plenty about.
“People just need to be smart, and be careful. Call the professionals.”

Originally published as Gold Coast snake catcher Tony Harrison called to Ashmore coathanger