Finding a snake in your Christmas tree is not the kind of surprise anyone wants during the holiday season, but that is exactly what one woman discovered in her home at Frankston, in Melbourne’s south-east, on Sunday.

The homeowner, identified as Cheryl, called snake catcher Barry Goldsmith to come and get rid of the venomous, metre-long tiger snake, which was wrapped around her Christmas decorations.

“She was very happy to see the snake go but she was very relaxed,” Mr Goldsmith said.

“Usually I get people screaming and hysterical and shaking and having seizures just at the thought of having a snake in the house. But she was pretty cool.”

“She just took a photo…20 minutes later I had the little bugger in a bag.” Source: Snake Catcher Victoria Australia

Mr Goldsmith has been working as a snake catcher in the area for 30 or 40 years and has never found a snake in a Christmas tree.

“Although I have found them around the base of a Christmas tree in amongst the presents in the past, I’ve never found one up inside a Christmas tree,” he said.

“This is a one-off thing. It’s like lightning striking.

“It’s not going to happen again for sure. Not this year anyway.”

Mr Goldsmith said the snake was “never going to hurt anybody” and Cheryl did exactly the right thing.

“The only time the snake becomes a dangerous animal is when somebody tries to hurt it,” he said.

“If you try to attack a snake or kill a snake then the chances of getting bitten increase hugely.”

The snake was removed and relocated to a friend’s bush property nearby.