A home security camera caught the moment 12-year-old Rosie Wightman discovered her guinea pig,Maxibon,in the jaws of a python.
Eumundi girl Rosie Wightman saves her guinea pig,Maxibon,from a python in the backyard.Nine News
“I saw Maxibon,and then he starts screaming and his head was underneath this little spade which was covering a python,” Rosie told KIIS 97.2 radio on Thursday.
“And then when I lifted a spade up,I see this python. And I’m like,‘Oh,crap.’”
In footage that has since gone viral on social media,Rosie leapt into action,grabbing the snake and swinging it around her Eumundi backyard in the hope the reptile would release her furry pet.
Her father ran towards her to assist – and a family dog mostly kept its distance – as the snake finally released Maxibon from its grasp.
According to the family,the snake escaped unharmed and Maxibon was left with scratches.
Zachery Richards,owner of Zachery’s Snake and Reptile Relocation,said he wouldn’t recommend anyone who was not trained with reptiles to swing around a snake.
“She’s game for picking it up and spinning the snake but honestly,I was waiting for the dog or father to get bitten. It was risky,” Richards said.
“I definitely would not suggest it.”
Richards said there was a far safer and simpler solution to get a snake to release a pet from its mouth.
“I’ve got a collection at home and if a python bites you,you get a spray bottle of water and spray them on the nose and eyes and they generally let go straight away,” he said.
“That’s all we do,and it’s safe for both parties involved. You don’t need to be hanging onto a snake because when you grab the tail like that,it puts you at risk of getting bitten yourself.”
Chantelle May Derez,a University of Queensland PhD candidate whose thesis is on snake relocation,said she was surprised the python ventured into a backyard with a dog at home.
“It is a quite young snake,so I don’t think it would’ve potentially been able to eat the guinea pig,but it was looking for an opportunistic feed. I’m surprised the dogs didn’t scare it off,” she said.
Nonetheless,Derez urged guinea pig owners not to allow their pets to roam uncontained and unsupervised. She suggested snake-proof enclosures to protect pets from roaming snakes.
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