There are few creatures more petrifying than snakes. No matter how small or unthreatening they are, there's something very sinister about them. Luckily, for most people, snake sightings are pretty rare.

Others, however, have the misfortune of living in close proximity to them - for example, many parts of Australia are home to numerous species of the slithery creatures.

But while snake encounters are a relatively common occurrence for some people in Queensland - one professional snake catch made a "nightmare" discovery in one family's attic.

The snake catcher, named Dave, works for Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, who shared photos of the eerie snake skins on their Facebook page.

It wasn't exactly the find that Dave - who typically wrangles rogue snakes away from people's homes and takes them back to the bush - was expecting.

Alongside a couple of images featuring the snake skins, Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers explained that the snake catcher had found at least 30 of them on that particular job.

The company wrote:

"Has There Been Any Snakes In Our Roof?! Well to be completely honest, there has been a couple...at least! How is this haul from Dave when he conducted a roof inspection yesterday.

"He brought down over 30 snake skins out of the family's roof space, and there was probably another 20 skins up there. The kids at the house loved it and had plenty of questions to ask Dave about snakes."

They went on to mention that snakes are "great to have in your roof as they eat all the rodents", calling them "free pest control". Yeah, I'd probably prefer the mice.

The post has since racked up over 5,000 reactions and more than 5,000 comments, with one commenter remarking: "That’s just plain scary !!!!!" and another describing it as their "worst nightmare".

Meanwhile, another decided it would be a "great 'show and tell' for the children."

A different person had a snake anecdote of their own, writing: "I know when my python is in my ceiling cavity...I hear him. He comes and goes. Must be moonlighting in someone else's roof too."

What's the most insane thing you've found in your roof? Let us know in the comments!

Featured image credit: Tierfotoagentur / Alamy Stock Photo

A disturbing video has gone viral on social media this week showing the moment when a giant python coiled around a small puppy, which then had to be rescued by its frantic owner.

According to a recent report by Too Fab, the frightening footage of the attack was captured by a CCTV camera in the back yard of a house in the suburb of Sippy Downs in Queensland, Australia.

In this video, a man is attacked by a snake (warning, some viewers may find the footage distressing):

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In the video in question, the small dog can be seen scampering around the garden, before the carpet python launches itself out of a nearby chili bush and clamps its jaws on the puppy's head.

The Python then coiled around the helpless dog and began to constrict it. Luckily, the puppy's owner, Michelle van Schouwen, was alerted to her pet's plight and sprinted onto the scene to fight off the predator with a cardboard tube.

Acting in desperation, Michelle and her daughter then grabbed the snake by the tail, shook their dog free, and threw the slithery reptile into the nearby bushes.

Watch the python coil around the dog in the video below (warning, some viewers may find the footage distressing):

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Commenting on the frightening encounter in a later interview with WIN News, Michelle stated:

"It was just panic, and I just I ran, and then I got to the end of the patio and then I just sort of froze and screamed, because I saw this snake, the python just wrapping all around him.

"So I sort of grabbed it and started moving, luckily I was near the head... it was just that panic, I was just spinning around.

Meanwhile, Michelle's daughter Mikaela stated:

"It was very tense... just adrenalin was in me, it kicked in and I just helped out. It felt so long that he was wrapped around him... I glad that we got to him in time."

Per WIP News, the snake was later released back into the bushland, and the dog has since made a full recovery.

A five-year-old boy had to be rescued by his grandpa after being bitten, constricted, and dragged into a swimming pool by a python.

The incident took place in New South Wales, Australia, where the family was enjoying a day by the pool at a residence on Thursday.

The boy, Beau Blake, is in good condition after the incident with the 10-foot-long snake and was even in good spirits after realizing he had been saved by his grandpa.

Speaking to Melbourne radio station 3AW, the boy's father Ben said: "Once we cleaned up the blood and told him that he wasn't going to die because it wasn't a poisonous snake... he was pretty good actually."

"It was instant, I saw a big black shadow come out of the bush and before they hit the bottom, it was completely wrapped around his leg," Ben recalled.

Fortunately, Grandpa Allan, 76, was on hand to save the day. He pulled Beau from the water whilst he was still ensnared by the snake and gave him to Ben. "He passed him up to me and then I had to separate the two. I released him from his leg," the father explained.

Ben explained that they are continuing to monitor his son for any signs of infection around the snake bite and called him an "absolute trouper". The snake was put back in the bush where it came from and hasn't come back since.

Speaking to 7News, a snake catcher described the incident as "a freaky incident". He explains that it is currently breeding season for the snakes and he is catching up to 20 a week.

His advice to anyone who comes face to face with one of the reptiles is to not attempt to catch or kill it, but instead to call a professional.

According to the CDC, around 7000-8000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year but only about five of those people will die. This is largely due to medical care being able to fight the venom.

It sounds like Beau had a lucky escape, and it was a good thing Grandpa was there to save the day!

Featured image credit: Matthijs Kuijpers / Alamy

There are few creatures more petrifying than snakes. No matter how small or unthreatening they are, there's something sinister about them. Luckily, for most people, snake sightings are pretty rare. Others, however, have the misfortune of living in close proximity to them.

One woman, in fact, found a python in the toilet in her own home in Chonburi, Thailand. Duangta Boonmee was utterly alarmed to find the seven-foot-long snake in her bathroom last Thursday (October 10).

Per Newsflare, she had gone to the bathroom to take a bath when she saw the snake coiled up on the floor beside the water bucket. Frightened, the snake made a beeline for the toilet which made it easier for Duangta to trap the animal before the rescue team arrived.

This is the moment rescue workers removed the snake from a toilet in a home in Thailand:

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The 36-year-old factory worker decided to throw a blanket over the snake to prevent it from slithering away. She then called the emergency services so that they could remove the creature from her property. When rescue workers arrived, they very cautiously caught the python with a snake catching rod.

Naturally, Duangta was relieved that she had spotted the snake before it managed to attack her. Fortunately, pythons are non-venomous - they kill their prey through constriction, essentially by squeezing the animal - generally not humans - to death.

The majority of pythons do not pose a threat to people. Some species, however, do grow to a large enough size that they are able to constrict and ultimately kill their owners. These include the reticulated and Burmese pythons and a few other species.

Some (brave) people keep pythons as pets - if you'd quite like a python for a pet, it's probably safest to get a ball python as they tend to be smaller, docile and easier to handle.

A group of Florida hunters have captured the second-largest snake to ever be caught in the state.

Conservationist Mike Elfenbein ventured out into Ochopee’s sprawling 729-acre Big Cypress National Park last week with his 17-year-old son, Cole, in an effort to capture predators that had been impacting the native wildlife.

That's when the father and son duo came across a gargantuan Burmese python - and a struggle between man and beast ensued.

As reported by WPLG 10, another local man in a pick-up truck had stopped in order to help Mike and Cole, but the huge beast soon started dragging the man towards a nearby canal. Fortunately, a group of hikers who were fortunate enough to be in the area also rushed to their aid, and the team battled the sizable snake for a further 45 minutes.

Elfenbein also told Field & Stream: "Even with five guys on top of her, she was able to lift us off the ground and keep moving."

"I grabbed [the snake] by the head, which was the size of a football," 45-year-old Elfenbein told WPLG 10. "I stretched her in one direction, my son stretched her in the other, and the other three guys jumped on top of her."

"If the five of us weren't here, we wouldn't have caught her," the father added. "We happened to be in the right place at the right time."

The group then posed for photos with the snake, with Elfenbein writing on Facebook: "A new personal best, Officially 17’2” & 198 pounds. This snake ate a lot of native wildlife to get this big. She ate her last meal! It took five of us to control her, glad to have removed her from our Everglades where she can no longer eat our wildlife."

The Florida Wildlife Commission has since confirmed that the giant Burmese python is the second largest to ever be caught in the state.

The longest snake to ever be caught in Florida measured 19 feet, but weighed just 125lbs. Meanwhile, the heaviest snake to ever be caught in the state weighed 215lbs - both of which were captured last year.

Snake hunters in Florida often venture into the wilderness in an attempt to capture creatures that pose a threat to the ecosystem and local wildlife. As Elfenbein explained: "A python this big likely consumed a lot of our deer and rabbits and all the other little furry critters we love to see here in Florida."

Speaking to CBS News, the dad described the python as "a monster”, adding: "It was more than a snake."

NBC 6 Miami has since reported that, after the python was autopsied, the remains of a deer was found in its stomach.

Elfenbein added that while much of the snake's carcass will be preserved for future scientific research, one of the men has opted to keep the beast's skull as a "trophy" of sorts.

A comprehensive review of pythons living in Florida was published last year, and showed that although little is known about how long Burmese pythons live in the Floridian wild or how often they reproduce, their hatchlings can be as long as two-feet. It also revealed that more and more of these pythons are migrating north.

The review also described the state's python issue as "one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe."

Featured image credit: Christophe Lehenaff / Getty