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By Jess Thomson
Science Reporter
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A snake catcher in Australia interrupted two pythons who were found entwined behind a microwave in a residential kitchen.
A video was posted to Facebook on Monday by Stuart McKenzie, a snake catcher and owner of the Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 page. In it, the two pythons can be seen tangled together on the kitchen counter.
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There are 14 species of python found in Australia, including the carpet, diamond and scrub subspecies. While McKenzie doesn't specify the kind found behind the microwave, all pythons are non-venomous. The reptiles kill their prey instead by constriction, essentially squeezing them to death.
One snake commonly found along Australia's East Coast is the carpet python, which can grow up to 8 feet long, and is often found in bizarre places. McKenzie himself has had to rescue snakes from a number of strange hiding spots, from the wheel of a car to a bathroom light fitting.
"Now I don't know if I heard the homeowner correctly, but apparently they've got two pythons behind the microwave in the kitchen," McKenzie says in the video. He is seen approaching the home in Buderim, a town on the outskirts of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
"We get a lot of pythons in homes in Buderim, but as you can see, this is probably one of the last places you'd expect," McKenzie adds. "There's actually two pythons: looks like a male and a female, snuggled in behind the microwave."
"Carpet snakes can't kill you, but larger species can give a nasty bite if harassed or handled," snake catcher Steve Brown, of Brisbane North Snake Catchers and Relocation, previously told Newsweek. "Most of the time, they are very docile."
These two snakes may have entered the house via the small window that had been left ajar behind the microwave.
"The snakes might have been basking in the sun, and they've come on in for a bit of hanky-panky behind the microwave in the kitchen," McKenzie said. "I've just interrupted coitus."
Snake mating is quite a different affair to that of humans or even other mammals. BBC Wildlife magazine explains that female snakes leave a scent trail when they are ready to mate, which is followed by the male. He will then perform a number of actions, including caresses and strokes. The male coaxes the female to allow him to wrap his tail around her and access her cloaca—the orifice that female snakes have that acts as a common opening for mating and also excreting waste. Mating snakes may remain entangled for several hours, with the male using one of his two hemipenes to mate and release his sperm.
The video then shows McKenzie grappling the two reptiles simultaneously, gently placing them inside a dark cloth bag. The snake catcher then released the pair back into the undergrowth, where they may have continued with the activity they were so rudely interrupted from performing.
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