When Tennille Bankes walked into a toilet cubicle in Goondiwindi, Queensland, she was greeted by the scaly tail of a spotted black snake peaking out beneath a closed lid.
The wildlife carer and snake catcher was called by police to the public bathroom after a local, surprised by the reptile, summoned them for help.
It is more common for snakes to find themselves in toilet bowls than people realise, Bankes said.
“It’s not like they go in there and they linger. It is usually just to get a drink, or to look for a food source.”
The spotted black snake is closely related to the red bellied black snake, and both share a diet of frogs. “You quite often find frogs in toilet bowls, in public toilets,” Bankes said.
After weeks of intense storms on the country’s east coast “bringing up the frogs,” followed by incredible heat, the toilet bowl became ideal for a snake looking for both food and a place to cool down.
“It has pretty much for everything they want in the one spot.”
What to do if you encounter a snake
The Goondiwindi toilet snake joins a recent string of locals encountering snakes in public buildings or homes – one notable occurrence being when a huge snake dropped from the roof during a podcast recording in Sydney three months ago. Earlier in the year, two pythons were spotted roaming the streets of Coogee after being allegedly dumped by their owner’s bitter ex.
The overwhelming advice is to leave snakes alone.
“I know it is scary, and people tend to run for a shovel,” Bankes said. “But that’s how you get bitten, especially if they are contained in an area like a toilet or a house.”
“It’s going to feel threatened, so it will try to defend itself by biting you. Honestly, the best thing to do if you do see a snake in your home, or in a public place, is to call a snake catcher.”
