Toddler hatches deadly snakes in closet

Toddler hatches deadly snakes in closet


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TOWNSVILLE, Australia — A toddler who took home a nest of eggs treated his mother to a surprise when the creatures inside turned out to be deadly snakes.

Kyle Cummings had found the eggs in his yard a few weeks ago and asked his mother for a container to keep them in. His mother, Donna Sim, said she didn't think anything more of it until she opened her son's closet door on Monday to discover a plastic container playing host to seven snakes.

"I was pretty shocked, particularly because I don't like snakes," Sim told the Townsville Bulletin.

Sim took the snakes to a nearby wildlife sanctuary, where it was found they were of the second-deadliest variety on the planet: the eastern brown. Wildlife specialists said Kyle was lucky he had put the lid tightly on the container and that his mother had discovered them before they grew big enough to pop the lid off.

North Queensland Wildlife Care reptile coordinator Trish Prendergast said eastern browns tend to be aggressive if they are encountered, so it was lucky the little boy did not see the mother snake while he collected the eggs.

"This little boy was extremely lucky he didn't get bitten," Prendergast told Sky News. "If he'd opened the container he might not be here today."

The snakes were released into local bushland, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, but Kyle wanted to keep them.

"He's always out in the yard, he always loves playing out there," Kyle's older sister, Shannon, said. "He's a real country boy. He was a bit sorry to see them go. He wanted to keep them."

Top image credit: Sky News

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