Craziest wrangles for snake catchers on the Sunshine Coast

From coiled around a traffic light to slithering over a toilet roll, snake wranglers have revealed their craziest catches. Watch the video.

It has been a wild start to the snake season, with professional catchers being tested by serpents finding themselves in unusual locations.

The onset of breeding season in mid-August as well as hot and dry weather conditions has contributed to regular snake sightings across the Sunshine Coast and Queensland.

What’s scarier than finding an unwelcome snake inside home? One that’s slithered into a sex dungeon.

Veteran South Australian snake catcher Rolly Burrell got the shock of his career when he walked into what had been described as a cellar only to find himself surrounded by whips and chains.

In his almost four decades in the business he has seen some strange things but nothing prepared him for this cellar.

In Queensland, snake catchers have been bitten on the crotch, hands and legs and have come close to death. In the digital age their tales of catching snakes longer than your arms are all documented in photos and videos.

Snake bites have risen this year with Queensland Ambulance Service statistics showing there had been 599 snake bites up until August, compared to 520 in the same period for last year.

While the snake activity has been spread out, two of the busier suburbs on the Sunshine Coast have been Buderim and Nambour, as well as rural areas.

Snakes have been sighted in unusual locations including on top of a toilet roll at Doonan as well as coiled around a traffic light at a busy Maroochydore intersection.

Luke Huntley of Snake Catcher Noosa said he expects it to be a busy season.

Noosa snake catcher Luke Huntley with an eastern brown snake at Eumundi. Picture: Snake Catcher Noosa

“It’s going to be really hot and dry, there’s definitely going to be a lot more around,” he said.

“It’s going to be busier than last year because we had the wet season.”

While the regular sightings of snakes is nothing out of the ordinary so far, it hasn’t stopped the slithery creatures from ending up in some unusual locations.

This Eastern small-eyed snake came up the drain on a rural property on the Sunshine Coast. Picture: Snake Catcher Noosa

This carpet python was found on a toilet roll at a Doonan property. Picture: Snake Catcher Noosa

“We’ve had a snake coiled on a toilet roll at Doonan, we’ve had a big Eastern small-eyed snake come up through the drain of a country property, I got a red belly in a boat along the Noosa River … we’ve had a couple of big brown snakes, as well as three carpet pythons in one shed,” he said.

“It has been an interesting start to the season.”

Stuart McKenzie of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 expects there to be plenty of snake activity over the coming months, with brown snakes quite prominent.

“There has been a lot of brown snake activity in the last two weeks, we’ve had two or three brown snakes a day, they are usually the last to move,” he said.

“There’s been some crackers in terms of rocking up to two brown snakes which are either mating or fighting.

“We had two in an irrigation pipe the other day, it definitely keeps you on your toes.”

Mr McKenzie said he had noticed an increase in illegal interactions with snakes and urged the public to be vigilant and stay safe.

“We’re having a lot of people try and catch snakes and hurt snakes, which is completely illegal,” he said.

“A handful of snakes a week are getting killed or injured by people, which is unfortunate.

“We also get people sending us photos regularly just holding a snake asking what it is, and we’re like, ‘well, why are you holding it?’.

“There is no need to panic, when you see a snake, don’t approach it, don’t try and catch it, hurt it or anything like that, and keep a safe distance away.”

Originally published as Craziest wrangles for snake catchers on the Sunshine Coast