A Sunshine Coast snake catcher has warned the public to never touch snakes they cannot identify, after a woman was bitten by a deadly eastern brown snake while trying to save her Jack Russell dog.
Snake catcher Stuart McKenzie said he received a call on Tuesday from a woman who believed a green tree snake had bitten her hand as she attempted to remove it from her dog's mouth. However, upon seeing a photo, McKenzie immediately identified it as a baby eastern brown snake, the second most venomous snake in the world.
'As soon as he described it I was just thinking to myself, 'that's not a tree snake',' McKenzie said. He instructed the woman to bandage her arm, sit down, and call an ambulance. The woman was taken to hospital and is recovering.
McKenzie urged people to avoid intervening if a pet picks up a snake, as the pet may already be bitten. Instead, he recommended using food or a hose to encourage the dog to drop the reptile. He also cautioned against underestimating the venom of baby snakes, noting that while some believe they inject less venom, others argue they may envenomate more due to lack of control.
'The best bet is just to treat it as if it's a highly venomous snake, bandage limb, stay still and call an ambulance,' McKenzie said.
