Off the scale python drives snake catcher up the wall
IF you thought you had a bad start to the week, think about the Ingham charity worker who faced off with a python at Ingham’s St Vincent de Paul charity store.
On Monday, a volunteer at the Herbert St shop found the 5.88m, 17.55kg scrub python wrapped around the roof rafters in the storeroom.
And this was not the first time the store has encountered a slithery intruder. In July 2013, a 5.7m amethystine python was removed from the store after slipping in through the roof.
Store volunteer Mario Garutti said snake handler Mandi Koch was brought in and climbed a ladder to move the latest intruder down.
Ms Koch “manhandled the snake” to capture it.
Mr Garutti said staff members had noticed a few snake skins hanging off the rafters in recent months and wondered where the snake was.
He said about six years ago another snake fell through the roof and was found hidden under a clothing rack.
Ms Koch said the scrub python was one of her most commonly caught snakes.
“Generally they’re nocturnal, so they don’t move around a lot during the day,” she said.
She said they were non- venomous, not scared of people and mostly fed on rats and small animals.
The experienced snake handler said there were good reasons to leave the snake in place.
“It’s eating all the rats, making sure your wiring isn’t getting chewed up,” she said. “Generally, they won’t be there if there’s no food source.”
Ms Koch said she usually caught snakes on her own, but was grateful for the assistance from her helpers on this occasion.
She also received three callouts on Sunday, two for scrub pythons with one removed from a road.