'Bet That Sucked for Ya': Snake Catcher Finds Venomous Reptile in Vacuum

A snake catcher in Hervey Bay, Queensland, was called to rescue a snake hatchling that had been sucked into a vacuum, video uploaded on May 4 shows.

Footage released by Drew Godfrey of Hervey Bay Snake Catchers shows him taking apart and inspecting the different parts of the vacuum, eventually finding the baby snake twisted within the dust bag.

“Poor little guy,” Godfrey says after pulling the dusty snake out. “Bet that sucked for ya.”

Hervey Bay Snake Catchers said on Facebook: “So just when you think you’ve seen it all in this job, someone calls you and says their wife has sucked a snake up with the vacuum cleaner!” They added that the snake “turned out to be a hatchling yellow-faced whip snake.”

The Australian Museum said that while the yellow-faced whip snake is venomous, it is not considered dangerous. However, “a bite could be extremely painful, with much local swelling.” Credit: Drew Godfrey via Storyful

Video transcript

- Oh, in that vacuum cleaner, I'm guessing. Is it already? OK. Well, this is different. And as you can see, we're dressed for the beach, because we were about to go for a nice kayak before this happened. I suppose we'll chuck this in here. What do you reckon it's going to be? Free snake?

- Maybe.

- His head's coming out of there. How do we open this thing? Watch out for your hands. All right there. Oh.

- That slides off that.

- It slides up there?

- Yeah, pull that.

- Pull this?

- Yeah. Now keep pulling.

- And then what?

- Then you just whip the bag.

- Jesus. Poor snake. Hey, hey, hey.

- There it is.

- Where?

- In the back.

- Oh, there it. It is a tree snake. Is it?

- I think it's cubic.

- Well, I don't know what it is yet. It's a brown. Is it?

- No, it's just a tree snake.

- Oh, it's a whip snake.

- Oh, it's a whip snake?

- A little whip snake. A little yellow faced whip. Yeah. Poor little thing. How are you going to the vacuum, man? You poor little snake. Oh, well, we've saved you at least. Little hatchling yellow faced whip snake is what it is. Hey, poor little guy. I bet that sucked for you. Yeah. I'm just glad it's OK. I was afraid that we were going to open it up to a dead snake, which is what I was afraid of.

But they're pretty tough little buggers, and he survived his trip in the vacuum. Very delicate little snake getting put in this tub. I'm tempted to just pick him up and hold him, but he might nip, especially after that ordeal. I can't get this lid off the top. I might need a second hand. Oh, there we are.

Hey, little mate. I'll be right in there. We'll go let you go in a better spot that's not a vacuum cleaner.