Child Spots Deadly Snake Slithering in Family Lounge Before Hiding in Sofa

Snakes catchers in Australia were called to a home in Queensland when a child spotted a brown-colored snake slithering through the lounge.

Arriving at the house in Sippy Downs, Queensland, on December 16, the team from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7, including team leader Stuart McKenzie, discovered the reptile was an eastern brown snake, the second deadliest species on the planet.

The team captured a video of their successful pursuit of the snake and uploaded it to their Facebook page. In the post, McKenzie wrote: "We got called out to a family's home in Sippy Downs after the young girl had seen a brown-colored snake cruising around the lounge room. They locked the doors and waited outside until we arrived.

"Westy and I started searching the house and initially didn't have much luck until I pulled the lever of the couch leg rest and the snake fell out from inside the lounge."

The snake catcher added that that the snake disappeared up into the couch again and couldn't be found anywhere. McKenzie continues: "With the owner's permission we cut into the base fabric of the couch to try and locate the snake.

"We eventually found it and were able to bag it up and relocate it elsewhere."

According to the Australian Museum, eastern brown snakes account for more human deaths in the country than any other species of snake.

The bite of an eastern brown snake can often go unnoticed by human victims because the species has short fangs, commonly no longer than one-tenth of an inch, meaning a bite can initially be painless.

An eastern brown snake's bite also tends to deliver only a tiny amount of venom, around just four milligrams.

Yet, the Australian Museum says what this venom lacks in volume, it more than makes up for in potency. This is thanks to the powerful presynaptic neurotoxins, procoagulants, cardiotoxins, and nephrotoxins it contains.

Thanks to this potency, only Japan's inland taipan snake is considered more deadly than the eastern brown snake.

In a human envenomated by an eastern brown snake, these toxins can result in progressive paralysis and uncontrollable bleeding. The Australian Museum says that this means any suspected eastern brown snakebite should be treated as a medical emergency.

The Australian Museum warns that the untrained should avoid attempting to capture or kill eastern brown snakes, adding that many fatalities that occur as a result of bites from these snakes do so as a result of people attempting to do this.

One person commenting on the Sunshine Coast Snake Catcher's post was definitely grateful that the experts were called to tackle this couch-lurking reptile.

She wrote: "You guys were the best. My kids were so grateful as was I for removing that snake from their house at their dad's. You guys were awesome."