Highly Venomous Snake Found Slithering in Child's Bedroom

A highly venomous eastern brown snake has been found slithering around a child's bedroom in Australia.

Snake Catchers Ipswich & Logan posted a video of the snake, which was spotted at a home in Flinders View—a city in the eastern state of Queensland.

The clip shows the serpent, which snake catchers said is a "baby," hiding behind some furniture before it tries to flee the individual recording the video.

"In here, we've got an eastern brown snake in a young one's bedroom. Time to go away mate," the snake catcher says.

The eastern brown is one of nine species of brown snake that live in Australia. These serpents, which all belong to the genus Pseudonaja, are considered to be among the most dangerous snakes in the world.

Some species in this genus, including the eastern brown, have venom that is powerful enough to kill a human.

The eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) is the largest member of this genus, measuring up to eight feet in length.

Lab tests on mice indicate that this species has the second most toxic venom of any land snake in the world, according to Australian Geographic.

Eastern brown snake venom contains an array of different toxins that can cause paralysis and prevent blood from clotting.

The most common causes of death resulting from an eastern brown snake bite are cardiac arrest and bleeding in the brain.

Dying from a snake bite in Australia is very uncommon, according to experts from Charles Sturt University in the south-eastern state of New South Wales.

But between 2000 and 2016, brown snake bites accounted for more deaths than any other snake in the country—less than two per year on average—according to a study published in the journal Toxicon.

While eastern brown snakes have a reputation for being aggressive, experts say that like other serpents, they tend to avoid attacking humans unless they are provoked in some way or feel threatened.

Eastern brown snakes are widely distributed across the eastern half of Australia, and are commonly found in populated areas, sometimes finding their way into people's homes. The job of a snake catcher is to safely remove them when this happens.

"It's not always through open doors and windows, they can often come in through the gaps around garage doors and then into the house or pet cat/dog can bring them inside," Snake Catchers Ipswich & Logan said in a comment on the Facebook video post.

A spokesperson for the company told Newsweek that baby eastern brown snakes are "just as dangerous as adults," although the venom differs somewhat in its effects.

One study found that the venom of younger brown snakes acts on the nervous system, which would be very effective against lizards. On the other hand, the venom of adult brown snakes acts to thicken the blood, which would stop a mouse in its tracks.

This article has been updated to include additional information on eastern brown snakes.