An afternoon in front of the television proved anything but relaxing for Aaron Gillard when a 1.5 metre brown snake reared its head in his lounge room.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Gillard was watching television in his Madeira Road home at about 5.30pm on Wednesday when he saw the snake, with its head up, near the television unit.
His wife, Julia, said her husband was “very cool, calm and collected.”
“He put my babies – the Cockatiels – outside, he put on his shoes and closed the bedroom door,” Mrs Gillard said.
“Then he got a broom and tried to ease the snake out of the side door – in which he failed. The snake hissed and got a bit angry.”
At this point, Mrs Gillard arrived home to hear there was snake in the lounge room.
“I was in a bit of a panic,” she admitted. “It’s not something you would expect – it’s unbelievable really.”
The Gillards contacted the police, who were helpful and contacted WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service), who sent a reptile handler who arrived within 20 minutes to remove the snake.
Mrs Gillard said she wanted others to keep an eye out for snakes, especially if they have children or pets.
“I am really proud of my husband,” Mrs Gillard said. “He was so cool and did all the right things.”
The WIRES handler advised the Gillards that if anyone finds a snake they should leave it alone and contact WIRES or the police.
WIRES’ priority is to respond to situations where reptiles are injured.
The volunteer service is unable to respond to calls where a snake is not injured or posing an immediate risk to human activity.
WIRES’ advice to those who see a snake outside their home is that generally the snake will move on before very long.
WIRES does give advice to callers on steps they can take to safely and humanely encourage the snake to relocate elsewhere.
To contact WIRES, call 13 000 WIRES or 1300 094 737