Young Boy Wakes Up With Snake Wrapped Around Arm, Bitten Twice

It is everyone's worst nightmare: waking up to find a snake in your bed. Worse still to have that snake bite you twice on the hand before wrapping its body around your arm.

For a boy in Queensland, Australia, this nightmare became a reality. At 1:30 a.m. local time on February 8, snake catcher Steve Brown was called to a family home in Whiteside to remove the 3-foot-long coastal carpet python.

"Snakes are often found in people's homes as they seek cooler areas in the heat of the day," Brown told Newsweek.

Luckily, the snake in question was non-venomous. Carpet pythons are common throughout Australia and can grow up to 13 feet in length, though most do not exceed 8 feet.

In a post on Facebook, Brown said that it looked like the snake had entered through a hole in the ceiling which used to connect to an air conditioner outlet.

Brown said that, while the incident might look like an unprovoked attack on a sleeping child, this was certainly not the case. "Snakes don't attack people," he said. "They will only bite when they feel threatened or are harassed by humans. This snake only bit the child due to feeling threatened and most likely was rolled on in the child's sleep, causing it to defend itself."

Although the species is not venomous, the local hospital suggested the boy come in to have his wounds treated, as these python bites can still cause a lot of damage. For example, they can slice through major arteries and nerves, resulting in significant blood loss.

Luckily, Brown said that the young boy was "ok and just very shaken." He is now recovering well and "looking forward to going to school with a cool story to tell his mates."

The snake itself has been relocated into nearby bushland, away from people's homes and roads.

If you should ever find a snake in your own home, Brown said that you should never try and catch it yourself. "Call for a professional to relocate the snake," he said. "Taking matters into your own hands can end up in a trip to the hospital or worse, death."

Interactions with snakes appear to be a common occurrence in Australia. A few weeks ago, a Queensland man found a 4-foot tree snake in his toilet, while a receptionist in Sydney found a deadly eastern brown snake in an office printer.

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