A woman in New South Wales has had an unwanted passenger in her vehicle for a month and it’s really causing problems.
A red-bellied black snake took up residence in Lisa Kournelis’ ute more than a month ago and is still there after four failed attempts to remove it.
Lisa continues to drive her ute to work every day and has named her offsider “Fluffy”.
She believes the poisonous visitor first entered her and her life a month ago, when she was visiting a workplace.
she told him ABC She was quite shocked after putting a box in her car and noticing the snake in the back seat.
“I think it was there for a good three weeks before because I was finding snake poop everywhere,” he said.
She said she was alerted to his presence because he kept setting off her car alarm during the day.
‘Then at random times, around 11am, my car alarm will go off. At first I wasn’t sure what it was, but then I realized,” she said.
Lisa believes the poisonous visitor first entered her and her life a month ago when she visited a workplace.
The red-bellied black snake is one of the most commonly found snakes on the east coast of Australia and is responsible for several bites each year.
Stopford revealed that removing Fluffy can be a big job, as modern cars are well sealed and the dashboard and seats may need to be removed.
Lisa said four snake catchers tried to get Fluffy out, but to no avail.
The Australian Museum states that the red-bellied black snake is one of the most commonly found snakes on the east coast of Australia and is responsible for several bites each year.
“Despite the number of bites received each year, there have been very few human deaths.”
Lisa said she now has to wear protective clothing when driving her ute.
“I’m very lucky not to have been bitten, but if it does bite, these wool work pants I wear will absorb most of the poison.”
Matt Stopford from Central Coast Snake Catchers told ABC it is crucial to get Fluffy the snake out of Lisa’s ute as soon as possible before it goes into winter torpor known as brumation.
“The snake will slow down, want to stay in the car because it’s a good hiding place to warm up, stop eating and probably settle in,” he said.
Stopford revealed that removing Fluffy can be a large-scale job, as modern cars are well 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 help get Fluffy out of the ute.