When a pair of Australian parents prevented their toddler from suffering a potentially deadly snake bite, they thought their worries were behind them. Little did they know, however, that over 100 eggs hatched from the very same species were lurking just outside their home.
Horrified that their small child came close to becoming the victim of an eastern brown snake, the second most venomous snake on Earth, inside their home, the parents contacted Wild Conservation snake catchers for help.
The parents knew they must have a snake problem. They had discovered close to a dozen hatchling snakes in their front yard back in February, after all. They had no idea, however, just how bad it was.
“[The parents] said they had a brown snake problem, which we get a lot,” Wild Conservation wrote in a subsequent Facebook post. “But this turned out a little different.”
Upon their arrival, the snake catchers went to work searching for the nest they knew must be somewhere on the property. And after digging under the path leading to the home, they finally found what they were looking for.
To the shock of even the experienced snake catchers, they found over 100 hatched snake eggs from the deadly eastern brown snake. Near the nest were two larger snakes, possibly the parents.
“The residents first found around 10 baby snakes in the front garden,” snake catcher Ken Durrant told Newsweek. “Then this week their 2-year-old child found one in the house and tried to capture it.”
Snake Catcher Believes Deadly Eastern Browns Were Sharing a Nest
Capable of killing an adult in 30 minutes with a single bite, the eastern brown snake is responsible for more snake bite deaths than any other species in Australia. The snake’s deadly bite releases powerful neurotoxins into the bloodstream, causing uncontrollable bleeding, nervous system damage, and even cardiac arrest and suffocation.
In addition to possessing a deadly bite, eastern brown snakes are also exceedingly common. Australian residents often find them hiding in their homes and yards, as their native habitat overlaps with some of the country’s most populated areas.
That said, this particular incident was an unusual one. Eastern brown snakes typically lay around 15 eggs at a time, 30 at the absolute most. So how did 100 snake eggs appear in a single nest?
Well, according to Durrant, the eggs were likely laid by multiple females over several years, indicating a communal nesting site. As Durrant continued to search, he realized that the young family’s home was apparently a deadly snake’s paradise.
Under the same slab of concrete he found the snake eggs, the reptile wrangler also discovered a 3-foot red-bellied black snake. Though not as deadly as the eastern brown, the red belly still packs a punch in terms of venom.
As if that wasn’t enough, there was another 2-foot adult eastern brown lurking near the nest, probably munching on the hatchlings as they emerged.
Following the unsettling discovery, Durrant arranged to have the family’s entire concrete path removed. This will reveal any deadly snakes hiding underneath, which Wild Conservation can then remove from the property.
