The Daily Populous Monday May 13rd, 2024 day edition
Authored by abc.net.au and submitted by lionelgobgob

In short: Lisa Kournelis thinks the snake she has called "Fluffy" has lived in her ute since March.

Lisa Kournelis thinks the snake she has called "Fluffy" has lived in her ute since March. She wants the snake removed and not harmed.

She wants the snake removed and not harmed. What's next? The Australian Reptile Park has offered to help.

A Newcastle woman has opted to wear protective gear while driving after four failed attempts to remove a venomous red-bellied black snake from inside her car.

Lisa Kournelis said she was shocked when she first saw the slithery stowaway last month.

"Yeah, I was putting a box in my car and it was sitting on the back seat," she said.

"I believe it was in there for a good three weeks before that because I was finding snake poo everywhere."

Ms Kournelis, who works in civil construction, suspected the snake got into her ute when she left the car door open at a worksite west of Newcastle.

She said she drove off, knowing the snake was in her ute, as she did not want to leave the vehicle there in case it got vandalised at the worksite and had limited transport options available to get to and from work.

Ms Kournelis said four snake catchers had failed to remove the reptile.

Lisa Kournelis hopes her long work pants will protect her from any snake bite. ( ABC Newcastle: Giselle Wakatama )

In the weeks since the failed removal attempts, Ms Kournelis has opted to name the snake "Fluffy" and continued to drive her car.

" I don't really have any other choice. It hasn't hurt me, but it potentially could one day," she said.

To avoid injury, she said she has been wearing woollen pants and other protective gear when driving on the advice from one of the snake catchers.

"I'm very lucky actually that I haven't been bitten, but if it does bite these woollen work pants that I wear will take most of the venom."

She said the snake constantly made its presence known, setting off car sensors and alarms.

"So just random times from about 11 o'clock in the morning, my car alarm will go off. I wasn't sure what it was at first, but then I clued on," she said.

Lisa Kournelis thinks the snake has lived in her ute since March. ( Supplied: Lisa Kournelis )

Snake catcher Matt Stopford has handled reptiles for more than 40 years.

Mr Stopford said snakes becoming trapped in cars was a rare occurrence, which he himself had experienced.

He said he once had a red-bellied black snake living in his car for four days.

Snake catcher Matt Stopford has 40 years' experience and says the seats and dash in the ute may need to be removed. ( Supplied: Matt Stopford )

"Snakes generally don't just get into the cars themselves unless it's when people have left the windows open," he said.

"I've had stories of people putting boxes in their car windows and houses and the snake has got out from the boxes just in their garage and that's how they've got in."

Mr Stopford said modern cars were well sealed, and once a snake got in the seats and dash may need to be removed.

"The dash is a big one, it's a big job. Generally you want a technician to do that, especially in the newer cars, and the technicians don't want to go in there while there is a snake in there, so it is a bit tricky," he said.

"The first thing you could start doing would probably be taking out the seats to make it a little bit easier, so if you do look in the window you might see it."

Lisa Kournelis says a snake catcher had hold if the serpent, but let it go. ( Supplied: Lisa Kournelis )

Removal before cold weather sets in

Mr Stopford said the snake should be removed urgently before the species and other reptiles entered winter dormancy known as brumation.

"The snake will slow down, he will want to stay in the car because it's a nice hiding spot to get warm, it's going to go off its food and probably settle in," he said.

The Australian Museum said red-bellied black snakes were one of the most frequently encountered snakes on the east coast of Australia, and were responsible for a number of bites every year.

"They are a shy snake and will generally only deliver a serious bite under severe molestation," a spokesperson said.

The Australian Reptile Park's operations manager Billy Collett has told the ABC he stands ready to remove the snake from the ute.

Ms Kournelis said Mr Collett had been in touch and she welcomed his support.

Guiac on May 13rd, 2024 at 01:37 UTC »

This is what my car mongoose is for

Mortem97 on May 13rd, 2024 at 01:26 UTC »

Since when did completely average Australian residents carpooling make it into headlines?

ferretf on May 13rd, 2024 at 01:04 UTC »

"I'm very lucky actually that I haven't been bitten, but if it does bite these woollen work pants that I wear will take most of the venom.”

MOST of the venom???!! WTF?!