An Australian snake catcher made a post on Facebook on Thursday about the experience of one of his clients. A lady in Chapel Hill, Brisbane by the name of Helen Richards was spending a quiet afternoon on Tuesday but needed to use the toilet. As she knew she wouldn’t be long, she didn’t turn on the light. That was her only mistake.
She was apparently caught “mid-stream” when she felt something bite her behind. She leapt up and turned on the light, believing it to be a frog. She was wrong. It was a 1.5 m Carpet Python, which also got the fright of its life.
Snake in toilet causes a scare
As reported by the BBC, when looking into the toilet, Helen first thought it looked like a longneck turtle looking back up at her from the bowl. She told the Gold Coast Bulletin that it happened so fast, her unbelieving eyes first thought it was a frog. However, she got more of a fright when she realised it was a snake. Having come up from below, the toilet was the snake’s “preferred exit point”, but she blocked it by sitting down on the seat and then sprayed the poor reptile with pee. According to the snake catcher, the Carpet Python was merely lashing out in fear.
The Facebook post, which dubbed the snake a "cheeky visitor," added that the snake at first showed no defensive behaviour and the snake catcher arrived with first aid for the client, including antiseptic spray for the small puncture wounds left on her behind by the snake.
They praised Richards for remaining calm during the incident and for not flushing the toilet. According to the snake catchers, flushing the snake would have made it retreat down into the pipes again, only to pop up elsewhere.
Bitten woman has a sense of humour
As noted by news.com.au, the Facebook post went on to say the Carpet Python was safely removed from the loo and was relocated to a more suitable environment.
They continued praising Helen by saying she had handled what was a scary incident like an “absolute champ.” They said she kept her sense of humour throughout.
Absolute nightmare fuel 😖https://t.co/fSCcqaWgfV
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) January 25, 2019
They did say Helen is now changing her toilet habits forever, by always turning on the light and having a peek in the toilet bowl before sitting.
Apparently, this was an unusual occurrence for the snake catchers, saying it was the first time they had been called out to something quite like this. The post went on to warn people who find themselves in a similar situation to not prod the snake, just put the toilet seat down and call a snake catcher. Never, ever, the poor creature away or it may return.