It took over 20 minutes for the ball to make its way out.
Highlights
- People noticed the snake had an unusually round lump and called for help
- X-rays showed the lump was in fact a tennis ball the snake had swallowed
- The team then helped the snake regurgitate the ball
A video, shared by an Australian organisation that helps with the removal of reptiles, is currently going viral on social media. The video shows a snake handler massaging a snake to help it throw up a tennis ball it had swallowed. Shared on February 8, the Facebook video has collected over 1.1 million views, some 1,500 reactions and more than 1,700 shares on the social networking site. If you don't do too well with creepy-crawlies, this may be a good time for you to look far away.
"What do you serve but not eat?" asks the Facebook post shared by Townsville Snakehandler. The answer is of course a tennis ball, which the snake had somehow managed to swallow.
According to their Facebook page, the snake was spotted by some home owners who noticed it had an unusually round lump and called a snake catcher. Once it reached Townsville Snakehandler, the team conducted X-rays and realized the lump was in fact a ball. They estimated that since it hadn't gone too far, they could help the snake regurgitate it.
The video shows a team member, called Trish, massaging the snake to remove the ball. It took over 20 minutes for the ball to make its way out. "The snake will have some RnR for a few days and fed a normal food item and then be released back to the wild!" says the post.
It not only shows the video but also the X-rays of the snake with the ball lodged inside it. Since being shared, it has collected over 7,500 shares and more than 2,400 reactions on Facebook so far.
The team also shared a video, some 10 hours ago, updating everyone that the snake had successfully been fed and would soon be released in the wild.
Here's the original post shared by team on Facebook:
We hope the snake stays fine and doesn't land itself into more trouble.