A well-known snake catcher from Queensland has recounted the shocking incident in which she was bitten by an eastern brown snake while in her Sunshine Coast backyard.
Mikayla, a professional with Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7, described the event on Facebook, admitting she was barefoot (“mistake number one”) and not paying attention to her surroundings (“mistake number two”). She shared video footage of the moment and images of the bite wounds.
She explained that she stepped on something while walking, immediately feeling a sharp pain in her left foot. Looking down, she spotted an eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) swiftly retreating, highlighting that snakes typically just want to escape.
Mikayla quickly moved away from the area, sat down, called her father for a snake bite bandage, and contacted emergency services. Within two minutes, the pressure immobilisation bandage was applied, and paramedics were en route.
Symptoms appeared rapidly: within five minutes, she experienced abdominal pain, vomiting, intense leg pain, heavy sweating, headache, and elevated blood pressure.
At the hospital, blood tests confirmed envenomation within an hour, leading to the administration of two vials of antivenom. She had a mild allergic reaction, developing hives. Hours later, severe weakness in her left leg left her unable to walk unaided, though improvement began recently.
Despite facing risks daily in her job, Mikayla emphasised that this bite was a rare accident at home. She noted that the snake fled immediately after biting, as biting is their only defence. She urged people never to kill snakes, stressing that they will leave if left alone.
Queensland Health’s latest figures show snake bite emergency presentations increased 15 per cent, from 1,094 in 2023 to 1,257 in 2024, with 160 cases in December alone.
The eastern brown snake, responsible for the majority of snakebite deaths in Australia (though fatalities remain uncommon), has highly potent venom that can prove fatal in under 30 minutes.
University of Queensland snake expert Professor Bryan Fry has previously stated that they are among the few snakes capable of causing death in under 15 minutes, with victims often feeling normal for the first 13 minutes.
