A snake managed to survive after it was swallowed by a much larger snake-like object: a vacuum cleaner.
The incident occurred at a home in Australia, and a snake catcher was called for assistance.
“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,” the Hervey Bay Snake Catchers, a Queensland company, said in a May 4 Facebook post.
A video posted by the company shows a man dismantling a vacuum outside the home to search for the scaly creature.
After tearing open the vacuum bag, he can be seen pulling a small snake out from under a pile of dust and debris.
“Poor little guy. I bet that sucked for you,” he said while holding the creature by its tail. It was identified as a recently hatched yellow-faced whip snake.
The snakes are found throughout most of Australia and can grow up to 3 feet in length, according to the Australian Museum. While venomous, they aren’t considered dangerous to humans.
“I was afraid that we were gonna open it up to a dead snake,” the man said in the video. “They’re pretty tough little buggers.”
The snake was unscathed — just “a little dusty and confused,” according to the post.
“I’m tempted to just pick him up and hold him … especially after that ordeal,” the man said before placing the tiny reptile into a box labeled DANGER VENOMOUS SNAKES.
The man, identified as Drew Godfrey, told 9news.com.au that people often have the wrong impression of snakes.
“It’s scarier to think of a world without snakes than a world with snakes,” he told the outlet.
McClatchy News reached out to Hervey Bay Snake Catchers for comment and is waiting for a response.
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