Snake catcher gets bitten by deadly eastern brown snake while live streaming his attempts to catch the reptile hiding below an air-conditioning unit
- Tony Harrison was bitten by a deadly eastern brown snake while capturing it
- Despite being bitten he still secured the snake before calling an ambulance
- He is recovering in hospital with his first blood tests showing positive signs
An experienced snake catcher live-streamed the moment he was bitten by a deadly eastern brown snake while trying to catch it.
Tony Harrison was attending a home in Pimpama, 50 kilometres south of Brisbane, on Friday, when the reptile caught him by surprise.
In the footage, Mr Harrison can be seen lifting an air conditioning unit when the snake suddenly lashed out at the veteran snake catcher’s thumb.
Mr Harrison can be heard grunting in pain before a woman asks if he is okay.
He took to Facebook on Saturday to reassure his followers that he was recovering and thanked paramedics for quickly administering first aid.
‘At the moment I feel good, scared but good,’ he said.
‘I suffer from anaphylaxis so even the smell of snake’s blood makes me puff up and that’s not happening now so that’s a good sign.’
In the footage, Mr Harrison can be seen lifting an air conditioning unit when the eastern brown snake suddenly lashed out at his thumb
His partner, Brooke Harrison, told the Daily Mail Australia that despite being bitten by the second most venomous snake in the world his first thought was to secure the dangerous reptile.
‘He continued to catch the snake, he wrapped it up and then he called an ambulance for himself,’ she said.
Mr Harrison was rushed to hospital and could have lost his life if he was not bitten by a brown snake years earlier, that allowed his immune system to build up a resistance to the venom.
‘He was bitten about 18 years ago and that probably saved his life,’ she said.
‘It was a huge ordeal, he nearly died at the time.’
Mr Harrison took to Facebook on Saturday to reassure his followers that he was recovering well in hospital
Ms Harrison said the first round of blood tests from the hospital indicated he was safe and follow up checks were being carried out every hour.
‘They are keeping him in observation for about 12 hours but he should be back at work tomorrow,’ she said.
Ms Harrison said that it was rare for a snake catcher to be bitten but not entirely unheard of.
‘Obviously if you play with snakes every now and then you are going to get bitten but as long as you aren’t doing anything silly you will usually be okay,’ she said.