Venomous Snake Released Back Into Kitchen Of Non-Paying Customer

@colinshoemark / Instagram

A snake catcher in the Lake Macquarie area of New South Wales, Australia, has revealed how he threw a deadly six-foot red-bellied black snake back into a customer’s house after they refused to pay him.

38-year-old Colin Shoemark appeared on a podcast where he recounted catching a six-foot red-bellied snake that was hiding behind a fridge.

He told Daily Mail, “I got there and he was panicking, which is pretty standard. It was in his kitchen, behind his fridge, so I had to pull the fridge out. When you catch a red-bellied black people go, you know, it’s not that dangerous because by nature they want to stay away from you. That’s true but when they’re trapped in someone’s house, it’s a completely different animal.

 

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A post shared by Colin Shoemark | Aussie Snake Catcher & Reptile Keeper (@colinshoemark)

However, when it came time to pay, the customer refused, telling Shoemark that it should be a free council service.

“Anyway, so this thing’s trying to kill me the entire time. I get it in the bag and the dude started saying, ‘Oh, this should be free and subsidised by the government. The council should pay for this.’ He kept going and going and going… I didn’t like it. It was the end of the day, I was pretty tired. I said, ‘if you’re not gonna pay me, I’m just gonna go and get out of here.” 

In response, Shoemark let the snake out again, causing the terrified homeowner to jump on top of a table and threaten to call the police.

“So I let it out and it started going past my leg and he got up on the kitchen table. He said he was gonna call the police and I told him to go ahead because they were just gonna call me and probably come in and watch me catch the snake. He had the money, he was just being a d*** about it.”

Eventually, the customer decided to pay Shoemark to remove the snake and it was removed.

Shoemark stated that this incident has made him double-check all fees with customers before driving out to a job. He also pointed out that this service is not free as he has insurance fees and other expenses to cover.

“This isn’t a free service because in the background I have insurance fees and all that sort of stuff to look after,” he said. “So, I just tell them the rate and we agree on it and then I come out. Usually if I don’t get the snake I spend a bit of time with the people to tell them about it or try and identify the snake.”

Since the incident, he has made sure that customers are aware of how much the service would cost before he starts working. He added that it’s not a large sum of money, usually around $150 to remove a deadly snake, and he is the one risking his life by catching the snake.

“It’s not like it’s $500. It’s 150 bucks and I’m the one risking my life and my sense of smell going forward,” he added.

He has been catching snakes since he was a child and has been working as a professional snake catcher since 2016.

Watch The Full Podcast With The Snake Catcher Below