Terrifying moment: A deadly brown snake bites a man trying to capture the reptile in a suburban backyard – resulting in him being hospitalized
- Snake catcher bitten by deadly reptile in suburban backyard
- Brown snake took man to hospital after biting his index finger
- Mark Pelley says there are more snakes than ever
A snake catcher has landed in the hospital after being bitten by a deadly Eastern Brown while attempting to remove the creature from a suburban backyard.
Mark Pelley, who describes himself as a snake hunter, was chasing the snake around 6.45pm Monday at a house in Melbourne’s northern suburb of Doreen when it staged a surprise attack.
“There was an eastern brown snake near the spa,” Mr Pelley told Seven News.
“I was trying to catch the snake, it walked away from me, and just as I was about to pick it up, it jumped up and bit me right on the tip of my index finger.”
Snake catcher Mark Pelley was bitten by Ostbraun, whom he was trying to catch in Melbourne’s far north on Boxing Day
Mr Pelley said it was the first time he had been bitten, despite being a professional snake fighter for years and catching reptiles since he was a child.
According to his daughter Aishah, Mr Pelley was “exhausted after several days of minimal sleep”.
She said the snake performed a mock strike, but then “flipped to the left.”
“Father’s hand reached down at the same time and the fangs brushed the tips of his left index finger,” she wrote on Snake Hunter’s Facebook page.
‘He went on with the work and caught the lively snake to put it away safely.’
Mr. Pelley bandaged the finger and held his arm immobile.
Although the snake’s fang only grazed his index finger, Mr Pelley spent a night in hospital to make sure he was okay
However, after ringing the triple-0, he single-handedly drove the “three-minute” drive back to his home.
“When he came home, I just made sure he stayed down,” Aishah said.
“I monitored his vitals.”
An ambulance arrived and took him to Austin Hospital, where he stayed overnight.
“It was very stressful because I wasn’t sure if it had poisoned him or not,” Aishah said.
“The eastern brown is the second most dangerous snake in the world.”
After a spate of blood tests, Mr Pelley was given the all clear to leave the hospital at 7am and he went out that day to catch several snakes.
Mr Pelley, who calls himself the Snake Hunter, says there are more reptiles out there than he’s ever seen before
The best course of action if bitten by a snake is to stay still and wait for emergency services, but Aishah defended Mr Pelley as he drove home, saying she had the knowledge and equipment to monitor him and revive him if necessary.
Mr Pelley said demand for his services has been constant this summer.
“Snake season is actually busier than ever,” he said.
“I used to get five snakes a day and now I get between 10 and 20 snakes a day.”
He urged councils to mow the grass short in parklands because if snakes are comfortable in long grass, when it is eventually cut they could try to get into houses.