Chef’s warning after being hospitalised following bite from Cuddles the taipan

Chef Callan Crigan hasn’t let winding up in intensive care after being bitten by his own taipan stop him from keeping snakes as pets.

Taipan Cuddles. Picture: Mark Wilson

A local chef is warning pet owners not to get complacent after he landed in hospital due to a bite from Cuddles the coastal taipan.

Jack Rabbit Restaurant head chef Callan Crigan is the proud owner of an impressive collection of pets, including an array of snakes and a crocodile.

However an incident with Cuddles the taipan four years ago left the Armstrong Creek resident in intensive care for a week.

Due to the injuries suffered from the venom he was unable to work for some time, forcing him to resign from a previous job at another local winery.

Mr Crigan said that he took full responsibility for being bitten, putting it down to “complacency”.

Pic shows Armstrong Creek chef Callan Crigan with his taipan Cuddles that bit him a few years back. Picture: Mark Wilson

“Normally when servicing an enclosure, say cleaning or whatever, I would remove the animal to do it,” he said.

“But you know, I knew the snake quite well, but I got complacent and I just thought, he’s in his hide up the other end of the enclosure, I’ll just grab that water bowl.

“He saw my hand as food, it wasn’t aggression or anything like that, something entered his enclosure, he saw it as food, and bang, he hit it really quickly.”

Mr Crigan said following the incident he locked the enclosure and grabbed a compression bandage.

Pic shows Armstrong Creek chef Callan Crigan with his taipan Cuddles that bit him a few years back. Picture: Mark Wilson

“Keeping venomous snakes, you tend to have a lot around the house,” he said.

“I bandaged myself up, sat down and called an ambulance, after I got off the phone to the ambulance I called my mother, because I wasn’t too sure what the outcome was going to be.”

Mr Crigan was taken to Geelong hospital.

Despite some pressure from his family, he still boasts an impressive collection of wildlife, including Cuddles.

“The way I looked at it, it wasn’t the snake’s fault, I made a mistake,” he said.

“It sort of kicked me into gear, don’t get complacent.

“I was very lucky, for an animal that’s heavily neurotoxic, to come out of it with almost zero long term effects.”

Barwon Health’s emergency department treated about 36 people with suspected snake bites in 2023, with three people requiring treatment with antivenom.

Originally published as Chef’s warning after being hospitalised following bite from Cuddles the taipan