A&E staff were thrown into panic when a patient arrived with a snake bite AND the deadly snake that bit him.
A man presented himself at the Hervey Bay Hospital in Queensland, Australia, on January 20 complaining of a bite before showing medics the offending reptile which he had captured in a jar.
The patient said he became injured after stepping on a baby red-bellied black snake.
Hervey Bay Snake Catchers were called to the hospital before later discovering the reptile was actually an eastern small eyed snake – a much more venomous species.
Snake catcher Drew Godfrey said the snake posed "significantly' more danger, adding: "Both are in the same family of snake, but the small eyed snake doesn’t get as big and is significantly more venomous.
"This is really uncommon and the snake only bit him because it would’ve been hurt and terrified.
“It’s not known to bite people, it’s very secretive and shy and is more likely to headbutt or stand-up than bite.
“Thankfully he’s done the right thing and gone to hospital,” he said.
"With the correct first aid and medical treatment, it’s actually hard to die from snake bite these days so old mate should hopefully be just fine."
The snake was quickly captured and released into a natural habitat, reports news.com.au.
The eastern small eyed snake is sometimes pitch black in colour and native to Australia.
The reptile is known to congregate in one location and can be found on the Sunshine Coast but are predominantly seen in lower and eastern regions of Queensland.
