A man was left with “shivers” after he found 102 venomous snakes right in the backyard of his western Sydney home.
David Stein called in for back-up after he found about six red-bellied snakes on a mulch pile in his Horsley Park backyard last week.
“I saw a pile of snakes on the mulch pile … which gave me the shivers,” Mr Stein told Sunrise.
“By the time I got my camera, they went into the pile of mulch.
“It was terrifying.”
After Mr Stein’s wife discovered female snakes tend to congregate when preparing to give birth, the couple called in snake catchers from Reptile Relocation Sydney.
Reptile Relocation Sydney owner Corey Kerewaro told NewsWire snake catcher Dylan Cooper was sent out, only to discover 102 snakes lurking in the mulch.
“Within a few minutes, we knew this was going to be unusual,” the business posted to Facebook.
“Snake after snake, they just kept being uncovered.”
Red-bellied snakes are venomous, with the Australian Museum reporting nausea, vomiting, headaches, abdominal pain and muscle pain and weakness as some symptoms of being bitten by one.
Mr Kerewaro said it was the “most venomous snakes in the one spot at the one time” he’d heard of.
“Pretty bizarre,” Mr Kerewaro said.
“In nature it’d be really common, it’s just that we physically don’t see it — we’re just the lucky ones that come across it.”
He said the mulch pile would have been “perfect conditions” for the snakes, who had likely been there about a month.
Mr Kerewaro said there were about 36 babies and four adults in the pile, with the number being taken up to 102 after some of the snakes gave birth after they were caught.
“They do give birth to quite a high number of babies,” he said.
“The chance of survival of those babies are very, very low.”
He urged people to be “snake aware” and not to “mess” with snakes.
“They’re not bad as long as people are snake aware and they don’t mess with them,” he said.
“If it’s up around the house and you do want to remove them … call a catcher and get some advice.”
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