Video shows tiger snake making itself at home in Kinglake chook shed

A massive tiger snake has been filmed slithering into a chook shed in Kinglake, with the reptiles increasingly turning up inside homes across Melbourne this summer.

A huge tiger snake has been filmed inside a chook shed in Kinglake, amid reports the reptiles are increasingly turning up inside homes across Melbourne.

Tina Worcester shared a video of the tiger snake inside her shed in Kinglake Central on social media this week.

“Saw one of our beautiful locals yesterday in my empty chook pen. Biggest tiger snake I have seen,” she wrote.

“It happily lives in the area between my chook pens and dam.”

But instead of being scared, the snake lover said she loved seeing the reptiles around her property.

“This time of year we often see tiger snakes. I am not afraid of them, just very respectful towards them,” she said.

“It has been living in the area for a few years that we know of and we are happy for it to stay.”

Ms Worcester said she had spotted another snake swimming in her dam, most likely getting a feed of frogs, tadpoles and silver perch.

Meanwhile Diamond Creek based snake catcher Mark Pelley, known as The Snake Hunter, said he had flat out removing snakes from properties this summer.

The vast majority relate to eastern brown and eastern tiger snakes, with hot spots including Park Orchards, Diamond Creek, Greensborough, Eltham, Warrandyte, Ivanhoe, Rosanna and Heidelberg.

“I’m just catching so many snakes in this part of town,” he said.

Mr Pelley said about 50 per cent of his calls out this summer related to snakes inside people’s houses.

He said because of repeated Covid lockdowns over the last couple of years, there had been a significant decrease in human movement.

“As a result snakes have been travelling around a lot more undisturbed,” he said.

“Because of this they have actually settled a lot more in and around people’s houses without people realising it as opposed to existing in parks or reserves or in the wild.”

Mark Pelley - The Snake Hunter with a tiger snake found in a kitchen in Eltham.

Recent jobs included a snake in a shower vent at an apartment in Alphington, and a snake in a toy box in Greensborough.

“The vast majority are hiding under beds, washing machines and fridges,” he said.

“They are looking for water and looking to cool down.”

Mr Pelley helped relocate a snake found at Liz Schult’s mum’s home in Eltham last Cup Day.

Ms Schult said her mum was shocked to discover the tiger snake in her kitchen and went outside with her elderly dog until Mr Pelley arrived to safely relocate it.

Barry Goldsmith from Snake Catcher Victoria Australia was recently called out to rescue a healthy tigersnake caught in birdnetting in a shed on a farm in Cape Schank.

Mr Goldsmith said this year had been a pretty standard season for snake sightings.

“People having bigger gardens definitely attracts more snakes, but I’ve removed snakes all up and down the peninsula, from Cranbourne all the way out to Portsea,” he said.

“I’ve got heaps of videos across on my YouTube channel with unusual places that I’ve removed snakes from, a few years ago I removed a snake from a Christmas tree … otherwise they’ve been in childcare centres’, old people’s homes, sock draws, sheds – I’ve pulled snakes from all over the place.

“I just really want to focus on educating people so they’re not scared of snakes, I really encourage people to contact us rather than interacting with the snakes.”

The Snake Hunter: 0403 875 409

Snake Catcher Victoria Australia: 0408 067 062