Monster cat-eating pythons on the loose in Melbourne

Cat-eating pythons are on the loose in Melbourne, with one snake catcher revealing he has captured four in the last week alone. 

Raymond Hoser, 57, from Melbourne-based reptile removal company Snakebusters, said he was called out to capture monster pythons frequently. 

The snake wrangler told Daily Mail Australia pythons aren’t native to the Melbourne area and the ones he captures are escaped pets.

‘All the pythons I catch are big enough to eat a cat,’ he said. ‘And I catch about 10 to 20 a year.’ 

Mr Hoser said he has caught three black-headed pythons (pictured) within the last week

Mr Hoser said he had caught three black-headed pythons within the last week, along with more than 12 ‘seriously big’ snakes.

‘If anyone’s lost their cat recently, well, there are a few fat snakes on the loose in Melbourne at the moment,’ he wrote on social media. 

He said pythons are not venomous to humans.

The snake catcher was called to Maling Street in Canterbury, Melbourne, at Christmas last year by frightened shopkeepers.

He was photographed grabbing two highly venomous tiger snakes and untangling them from the ‘tree’ – which consisted of tinsel wrapped around a lamppost.

‘You can tell by their body language if they’re going to bite you,’ Mr Hoser said.

‘I could tell these guys weren’t going to.’

Raymond Hoser was photographed plucking two deadly tiger snakes from a Christmas tree

Mr Hoser said it wasn’t unusual to find snakes in Christmas trees.

‘People wonder how snakes get into cities and it’s because they hitchhike in people’s cars,’ he said.

‘Then they get scared and climb up the closet thing for safety, and sometimes it’s a tree.

‘It’s not Christmas unless I’ve pulled at least one snake from a tree. 

The snake man said his phone has been ringing off the hook this summer from people finding snakes in their homes.    

The snake catcher from Melbourne said he can tell if a snake is going to attack him