A venomous snake needed to be rescued from a homeowner’s vacuum cleaner after it became trapped in the machine.
The terrified woman was cleaning her home when the reptile got pulled into the machine – prompting her to call in professional snake catchers to release the creature.
Animal rescuers identified the reptile, found on the Sunshine Coast in Australia, as the poisonous Red Bellied Black Snake.
Australian Snake Catchers were called to rescue the snake from the woman’s home.
They safely managed to remove the slithery customer and safely free him back into a safe location in the wild.
Spokesperson Brendan West said: “There’s always dangers with handling snakes but this particular snake is a highly venomous Red Bellied Black Snake.
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“You must be a licensed trained professional to do this job legally in Australia.
“The snake could have been injured, killed or badly trapped, luckily we were able to simply open the vacuum this time and put it in our bag for relocation.
“We went and safely relocated the snake back into the wild, and checked the snake for injuries before releasing.”
The Red Bellied Black snake is indigenous to Australia and is one of the country’s most commonly encountered snakes.
Averaging around 4ft in length, it has glossy black upperparts, bright red or orange flanks, and a pink or dull red belly.
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Although its venom is capable of causing significant illness, no deaths have been recorded from its bite, which is less venomous than other Australian elapid snakes.
Common in woodlands, forests and swamplands, the red-bellied black snake often ventures into nearby urban areas.