Toddler stashes deadly snake eggs in wardrobe
A toddler in Australia had a lucky escape after stashing eastern brown snake eggs in a plastic container tucked away in his wardrobe.
Kyle Cummings aged three found the eggs near his home in Townsville, Queensland, before storing them in a safe place. A few days later his mother found the seven deadly snakes after they had hatched. The reptiles were 12-15cm long.
Eastern brown snakes are highly venomous and are second only to the Inland Taipan when it comes to venom. Fortunately, in this instance they caused no harm to any of the Cummings family.
The snakes have since been released into the wild.
Trish Prendergast of North Queensland Wildlife Care, who released the snakes, said: "Their fangs are only a few millimetres long at that age, so they probably couldn't break the skin, but they're just as venomous as full-grown snakes.”
In September a Sydney teenager survived a bite on the hand from an Inland Taipan. He was rushed to hospital and given anti-venom.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
