Female tradie picks up baby Eastern Brown snake without realising its highly venomous

Smiling female tradie poses for a selfie with a ‘harmless’ baby snake – only to discover the reptile is one of the most venomous animals in the world

  • Smiling female tradie Lucy mistakenly thought a baby snake was harmless
  • She picked up the year-old eastern brown after spotting it in her workplace
  • A Sunshine Coast snake catcher said baby snake was just as dangerous as adult 

A smiling female tradie is lucky to be alive after picking up a baby eastern brown snake without realising it’s one of the world’s most venomous reptiles.

Lucy, who declined to give her surname, spotted the serpent slithering inside her workplace on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, on Tuesday morning.

Before calling a snake catcher, she picked up the year-old eastern brown under its neck and posed in a picture, demonstrating how not to hold Australia’s second most venomous reptile.

A smiling female tradie (pictured) is lucky to be alive after picking up a baby eastern brown snake without realising it’s one of the world’s most venomous reptiles

Richie Gilbert, the owner of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7, said a bite from the baby snake was just as ‘dangerous as an adult’.

‘Just the one drop and it’s enough to kill you,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday 

‘When you look at the toxicity of their venom, they rank as the second most venomous land snake in the world. Right up there and they’re not afraid to bite.’

Mr Gilbert said Lucy could have easily been bitten, looking at the way she had held the baby snake too far down its spine.

Richie Gilbert, the owner of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7, said a bite from the baby snake was as 'dangerous as an adult' (stock image)

Richie Gilbert, the owner of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7, said a bite from the baby snake was as ‘dangerous as an adult’ (stock image) 

‘That was a very, extremely dangerous situation, especially the way she was holding it,’ he said.

‘It’s got a full range of movement just behind its head to be able to turn around and bite.   

‘She thought it wasn’t a dangerous snake so she feels quite embarrassed now.’ 

After the inland Taipan, the Eastern Brown is Australia’s second most venomous snake. 

Eastern Browns, however, kill more people, with two fatalities a year on average.

‘It makes them Australia’s most dangerous snake especially when you take into consideration how many of them there are,’  Mr Gilbert said.

The snake catcher, based at Buderim on the Sunshine Coast, put the image of Facebook as a public service message

The snake catcher, based at Buderim on the Sunshine Coast, put the image of Facebook as a public service message

The snake catcher, based at Buderim on the Sunshine Coast, on Tuesday posted the image of Facebook as a public service message.

‘Please don’t do what Lucy did,’ Mr Gilbert said, adding Lucy had mistakenly thought the baby reptile was a harmless red-naped snake.  

Several people thanked Lucy for demonstrating an error they could have easily made. 

‘Good on ya Lucy. I’d be none the wiser either,’ Rebecca Southern said. 

Several people thanked Lucy for demonstrating an error they could have easily made

Several people thanked Lucy for demonstrating an error they could have easily made

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk