Tayla Honeman was at home with his partner when he heard his dog barking. It was out of character. 

“I’ve got a fairly big dog and she was going ballistic, and the neighbours’ dogs were too, so I thought people might be hanging around and went out to check,” he said.

“I had a bit of a wander around yard but couldn’t see anyone or anything so went back inside but the dog went off again, so my missus went out to have another look near the back door where the dog was barking, and she sort of looked up and screamed out.”

Mr Honeman said his initial thought was an intruder on their property.

“I thought someone must’ve been there, but she yelled ‘There’s a snake!’ and I ran out to see,” he said.

“I saw it was a different type to the normal ones you see, and it was hissing and agitated on this big glass table, so I sort of threw stuff at it to get it away from the dog and it slithered away, then went up this old windmill frame onto this antenna thing so I posted it on Facebook to see if someone could come and get it.”

Mr Honeman said he was concerned it might come into the home where his one year old and four year old were sleeping, so wanted it removed as soon as possible.

“I had a few people offering but they weren’t professionals so I waited for someone with a reptile license, and that’s when Jake Cullen offered,” he said. 

“He offered to do it without charge because he said he was really interested in this snake - he said as far as he could see it was species they don’t see too often.”

Jake Cullen is a licensed snake catcher with Riverina Reptile Relocations and identified the snake as a 1.2 metre long Murray Darling Python.

“They’re normally found around waterways and rocky outcrops, so it was strange to see it on someone’s property,” he said.

“They’re actually not too common to see anymore due to human land use and that sort of thing, so it was the first one I’ve caught for someone through the business.”

Mr Cullen said the species isn’t venomous to humans, but caution is always recommended to be taken.

“Every single native snake in Australia is considered an endangered species, so call a snake catcher, there’s always one around, and let the experts deal with it,” he said.

“Keep your eyes on them in the meantime so we know where to find it and stay vigilant.”

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