Venomous ‘night tiger’ snake under 5-year-old’s pillow

A NORTHERN Rivers mum was forced to make a panicked phone call to a local snake catcher after making the terrifying discovery.

A venomous snake has been found under a young boy's pillow.

A FIVE-year-old boy got the fright of his life while he was getting ready for school yesterday after he spotted a venomous brown tree snake under his pillow.

Northern Rivers snake catcher George Ellis said he got a panicked phone call from the boy's mother at 8.30am, correctly identifying the species of snake.

"The lady said, 'we just found a snake under my boy's pillow'," he said.

"I said, 'are you out of there?' and she said, 'yes I'm looking at it, I've got my boy and he's going to school'.

"She identified the snake as a brown tree snake or what people call a night tiger."

The snake was secured on the bed at the Federal home when the mother put a wire basket over it and shut the bedroom door.

Mr Ellis said by the time he got to the house about 1.30pm, he discovered the snake was only small, but said it will still important to be careful because they were venomous.

"It was only then that she told me that the boy initially complained about having a small sore under his armpit," he said.

"I told her given the time that had elapsed, it was highly unlikely there will be any problems, especially since nobody from the school had called to say the boy was unwell."

As the brown tree snake is part of the colubridae family, the largest venomous snake family in the world, Mr Ellis said he suggested the boy should get checked by a doctor.

"I then called Byron Bay hospital and spoke to one of the nurses who suggested we bring the boy in for a check-up," he said.

"I said to the mother that would be a good idea just to ease her tension.

"The nurses checked his vital signs and he was still at the hospital under observation and waiting to see a doctor when I left."

Mr Ellis said after catching about 10,000 snakes over the years, the brown tree snake was the best climbing species he had ever seen.

As this specimen was small, Mr Ellis said it could have easily got into the boy's bedroom.

A Northern NSW Local Health District spokeswoman said the boy was released from hospital late yesterday, after a period of observation by staff at Byron Bay Hospital.