The roof of a kitchen after two non-venomous carpet pythons crashed the ceiling at Laceys Creek, Australia. Image: Brisbane North Snake Catchers and Relocation/Steven Brown/ via AP
An Australian returned home and was surprised to discover that his kitchen ceiling had collapsed under the weight of two large pythons apparently fighting over a mate.
David Tait entered his home in Laceys Creek in Queensland state on Monday and found a large chunk of his ceiling lying on his kitchen table.
“I knew we hadn’t had rain, so I looked around to find what had caused it,” Tait told Nine Network television on Tuesday.
He soon found two culprits — non-venomous carpet pythons 2.8 meters (9 foot, 2 inches) and 2.5 meters (8 foot, 2 inches) long — that had slithered into a bedroom and living room. The snakes have an estimated combined weight of 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
In this photo provided by Steven Brown, a snake is coiled on the floor of a home at Laceys Creek, Australia, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. David Tait returned home and was surprised to discover that his kitchen ceiling had collapsed under the weight of two large pythons apparently fighting over a mate. (Steven Brown/Brisbane North Snake Catchers and Relocation via AP)
In this photo provided by Steven Brown, Steven handles 2 python snakes at a home in Laceys Creek, Australia, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. The home owner, David Tait, returned home and was surprised to discover that his kitchen ceiling had collapsed under the weight of two large pythons apparently fighting over a mate. (Steven Brown/Brisbane North Snake Catchers and Relocation via AP)
“I would assume that it was two males fighting over a female that was nearby in the roof,” Brown said. He suspected the female could still be in the ceiling or nearby.
The males were returned to the wild, but the suspected third snake hasn’t been found. RGA