A woman in NSW has had an unwanted passenger in her company for a month and it’s a real hisser.
A red-bellied black snake took up residence in Lisa Kournelis’ home over a month ago and is still there after four failed attempts to remove it.
Lisa continues to drive her car to work every day and has named her outsider “Fluffy”.
She believes the toxic visitor first entered her life a month ago when she visited a workplace.
She told me ABC she was quite shocked after she put a box in her car and saw the snake in the backseat.
“I think it had been there for over three weeks before that because I found snake poop everywhere,” she said.
She said she was alerted to its presence because it kept setting off her car alarm during the day.
‘So just at random times, from about eleven o’clock in the morning, my car alarm goes off. “I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but then I knew,” she said.
Lisa believes the toxic visitor first entered her life a month ago when she visited a workplace
The red-bellied black snake is one of the most common snakes on the east coast of Australia and is responsible for a number of bites per year
Mr Stopford revealed that getting Fluffy out could be a big job as modern cars are tightly sealed and the dashboard and seats may need to be removed.
Lisa said four snake catchers tried to remove Fluffy, but without success.
The Australian Museum states that the red-bellied black snake is one of the most common snakes on the east coast of Australia and is responsible for a number of bites each year.
‘Despite the number of bites received each year, very few human deaths have occurred.’
Lisa said she now has to wear protective gear when driving.
‘I’m actually very lucky not to have been bitten, but if he does bite, the wool work trousers I’m wearing will catch most of the venom.’
Matt Stopford from Central Coast Snake Catchers told the ABC it is crucial to remove Fluffy the snake from Lisa’s ute as quickly as possible before it enters hibernation, also known as hibernation.
“The snake will slow down, it will want to stay in the car because it’s a nice hiding place to get warm, it will lose its food and probably burrow,” he said.
Mr Stopford revealed that getting Fluffy out could be a large-scale job as modern cars are tightly sealed and the dashboard and seats may need to be removed.
A spokesperson for the Australian Reptile Park told Daily Mail Australia the snake has not yet been rescued, but Operations Manager Billy Collett is coordinating with Lisa to assist in removing Fluffy from the ute.