Venomous snake locks Melbourne residents out of home
Some Melbourne residents had an eventful evening this week after a venomous snake locked them outside their house.
Mark Pelley, from The Snake Hunter, said the group of four were walking along their street in Doreen, in the city's north-east, on Tuesday when a tiger snake slithered between one of their legs.
Thinking it was stick, one person kicked the reptile.
That's when their troubles began.
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The resident thought they had kicked a stick., but it was a venomous species of snake. Mark Pelley / The Snake Hunter
"In kicking the snake, it trapped it between the security grill and front door," Pelley told 9news.com.au.
"This essentially locked the group outside.
"After it was kicked, half of its body was trapped between the front and back door so it felt trapped."
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Pelley said the snake went into defensive mode, which is when he was called in to help.
"If they feel pain, or trapped, they will defend themselves," Pelley said.
"I captured the snake, calmed the residents down and checked over it for a couple hours.
"It was healthy, nothing was broken, so I released it into the wild away from any houses."
He estimated the snake was about two-years-old, as it was only 70-centimetres long.
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The tiger snake is one of Australia's most dangerous snakes, and is found throughout the country's south-east. Getty Images/iStockphoto
Even though summer has finished, Pelley said there are plenty of snakes around.
"I'm still catching them," he said.
"Many of the venomous snakes in Melbourne thrive in cold weather, so if you see one call your closest catcher and don't try to handle it yourself."
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The tiger snake is one of the most venomous snakes in the world.
According to Australian Geographic, the species is the third most dangerous snake in Australia - after the eastern and western brown snake.
Tiger snakes however, are found across the south-eastern coast of Australia, including southern Queensland, eastern and southern New South Wales, and Victoria.
The inland taipan is the most venomous snake in the world - and Australia - however bites are exceedingly rare as its habitat is the remote desert.
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