Snake cooped up after dining on chicken
Slippery customer: Snake handler Stephen Johnstone retrieves a 4m amethystine python from a back yard in Shannon Drive, Bayview Heights.
SNAKE catchers have been flat out since the rain started this week.
A Bayview Heights homeowner discovered a 4m amethystine python had eaten one of the hens from her chicken coop.
Handler Stephen Johnstone says he has caught and released four snakes in the past 48 hours, taking his total for the past month to 16.
Mr Johnstone says habitat destruction is a main cause of the snakes finding their way into urban areas.
People could minimise the risk of finding one on their property by ensuring birdcages and chicken coops were properly snake proofed.
"They are like children, they just want to be dry, fed and feel secure," Mr Johnstone told The Cairns Post.
"What better place for them than a chook pen?"
He also offered some advice to anyone finding a snake on their property: "Keep a safe distance. Keep your eye on it and call a licensed snake handler."
