Highly Venomous Snake Slithers Out from Under Woman's Bedroom Wardrobe

A 20-year-old Australian woman had a close encounter with a deadly snake last week when it slithered out from under her bedroom wardrobe.

Jasmine Davenport, of Exeter, Tasmania, told The Examiner newspaper she was woken up by her pet dogs last Wednesday and spotted the reptile as it was emerging from the closet. It was later identified as an approximately 4-foot-long tiger snake.

Davenport was able to snap a photo of the snake before rushing her two dogs, Halo and Lopez, and pet rabbit Theo to safety, before calling for expert assistance.

"I was alone and my first priority was to get my fur babies safe," Davenport told The Examiner, saying the two pups had helped to save the day by making her aware of the snake.

A tiger snake profile published by the Australian Museum notes the species is known to be large, with an "often aggressive defence and toxic venom."

A local snake catcher called Ian Jessup responded to the woman's call and captured the snake. He said it had likely entered the home to seek shelter from warm weather outside over the past week, and noted it could have been lurking for days.

He said: "It was a big mature tiger, he wasn't a small one. He would've gone, 'here's a nice cool spot.' I suggest it would've been in the house [for] three or four days."

"This year the snakes are plump, in really good condition, because it was a really wet spring with lots of frogs and they're all big fellas this year," Jessup added.

Davenport told the newspaper that she agreed with the snake wrangler's assessment after recalling that her pet rabbit had indeed been "acting weird for a few days."

The Australian Museum profile notes that despite their fearsome reputation, tiger snakes are not commonly seen, generally shy and most prefer to escape rather than launch into an attack. When provoked, however, the species is well prepared to strike.

It says: "A cornered tiger snake will put on a... threat display by holding its forebody in a tense, loose curve with the head slightly raised and pointed at the offender.

"It will hiss loudly as it inflates and deflates its body, and if provoked further will lash out and bite forcefully. The venom of the tiger snake is strongly neurotoxic and coagulant, and anyone suspected of being bitten should seek medical attention immediately."

A tiger snake encounter in Tasmania last January claimed the life of an elderly man who was bitten while working at his farmland property.

Winston William Fish, 78, was bitten "at least twice" as the snake coiled around his arm, resulting in "paralysis and cardiac arrest," a November coroner's report said.

Despite being "maligned" due to an aggressive nature and strong venom, the museum profile says that the species should be recognized as a "great survivor" because it has "superbly adapted to some of the most inhospitable environments in Australia."