Snake wrangler’s warning as ‘monster’ red-bellied black snake caught in roof

Snake wrangler Luke Huntley told news.com.au the massive snake had crawled into the roof of a Cooroy home, in a suburb of Noosa, and was a difficult catch.

“I could only stand on the beams (of the ceiling) so it was a tricky catch,” he said of retrieving the 1.5m snake.

A photo shows the fattened snake poking its head looking out from a small hole in the roof.

“It definitely goes to show a venomous snake can absolutely climb,” Luke, who runs Snake Catcher Noosa said.

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Luke said despite the red belly looking unusually large, he sees snakes that size “a lot”. He said he came across another red belly that was 1.9m long last year.

Luke shared a photo of the snake on Facebook, attracting more than 580 reactions and 150 comments.

“My favourite snake … but only when they are in someone else’s roof,” one woman commented on the post.

“Wow! Gorgeous! That’s a monster compared to the RB’s we have here in our rockwall on the dam,” another said.

“What a whopper,” another said.

But others weren’t so keen on the big snake.

“I’d rather move house once I know 1 has been there,” one woman commented.

“That’s what got our staffy in Deception Bay home bit it 5 times and survived still with us today,” another said.

Red bellied black snakes are “frequently encountered” on the east coast and responsible for a number of bites every year, according to the Australian Museum. However, they’re a shy snake, and are only likely to attack a human when being severely interfered with.

The red belly is considered one of the least dangerous venomous snakes in Australia for its size. Few bite victims end up requiring hospitalisation, however pets can suffer more serious complications due to their smaller size.