A COVID19 testing facility in western Sydney had to be closed after unexpected, venomous, guests were found on its grounds. 9News
Employees at the site, in St Marys, spotted a number of red-bellied black snakes ranging from young to a "medium-sized" individual.
One snake was filmed slithering through a carpark before Australian Snake Catcher owner Sean Cade captured it using a wheelie bin and hook.One red-bellied black snake was filmed slithering through the carpark of the COVID-19 testing site."The red-bellied black snakes may have misread RAT testing," he told 9news.com.au.
"Staff had originally sighted a medium-sized snake on Friday last week, and due to improved weather conditions and the influx of babies being born over the last couple of months, they sighted a couple of baby snakes again on Monday.The red-bellied black snake was captured and released in a nearby waterway."There's a waterway nearby which is a favourable location for this species," he said.
Should a bite occur symptoms of envenomation include: bleeding and/or swelling at the bite site, nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, sweating, local or general muscle pain and weakness, and red-brown urine. Their venom has anticoagulant and myotoxic effects, meaning it has a toxic effect on muscle and stops blood from clotting.