Snake warning after Gold Coast fire

Potentially deadly brown snakes left homeless after a large scrub fire on the Gold Coast may descend on a popular tourist beach.

Swathes of scrub on the Southport Spit were burnt by a large fire last weekend.

Snake catcher Tony Harrison says eastern brown snakes who survived the blaze will almost certainly head south to nearby Main Beach in search for food and shelter.

Mr Harrison says the highly venomous snakes use rat holes at the base of trees to shelter from fire and is warning beach users to be on the lookout.

"They will desperately be looking for new places to go," Mr Harrison told the ABC.

"Just be aware that there is going to be plenty around."

On Wednesday two people had to be hospitalised after suffering snake bites.

A 40-year-old woman was treated after a bite to the leg in the Gold Coast hinterland, while a 16-year-old boy was bitten on the toe at the Sunshine Coast.