iStockphoto / Ken Griffiths
A video shared by a ’24/7 snake catcher’ in Melbourne, Australia sought to answer one of the questions he is asked the most: ‘how did the snake get inside the house?’
The video has since gone viral and it shows how easily snakes can slip under doors by completely flattening their bodies.
The short clip has been viewed nearly a million times. It shows an Eastern Brown Snake flattening its body to slip underneath a door with minimal clearance between the door and the floor.
@snakehunteraus how snakes get in houses #viral #fyp #venom #deadly #Snake #snakecatcher
It isn’t lost on anyone that the snake in this viral video is an Eastern Brown Snake. They are considered the second-most venomous snake on land behind the Inland Taipan, a species that’s also found in Australia. The Eastern Brown Snake is found throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.
The top comment on the video is “This is the 500th reason why I will never go to Australia!”
Others wrote “I didn’t need to know this!!!!!” and “thanks, now I won’t sleep ever again.” Someone chimed in with “New fear unlocked thanks.”
The general gist of the comments is people are afraid of Australia. It seems lost on most people that this ability isn’t specific to the Eastern Brown Snake and many (most?) species of snake possess the ability to flatten their bodies like this to slip underneath doors.
Meanwhile, Mark the Snake Hunter is on TikTok showing just how prevalent these snakes are in Australia with viral videos like this one:
@snakehunteraus large Easter brown snake beside the road in Yarrambat #snakecatcher #Snake #fyp #dayinthelife #foryoupage #viral
He also keeps one of these Eastern Browns as a pet:
@snakehunteraus eastern brown snake #venom #reptile #TheHereChallenge #snake #viral #australia #fyp #foryoupage