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Incredible moment another snake emerges from mouth of red-bellied black snake

The video captures the moment both deadly reptiles begin flicking their tongues.

A snake catcher got more than he bargained for after being called to remove a red-bellied black snake from a Gold Coast yard.

When Mitch Thorburn from South East Reptile Relocations approached the snake he could tell it had recently eaten, but he did not expect it to regurgitate its meal still alive. "There’s not too much that surprises me anymore, but this was a little bit of a shock,” he told Yahoo News Australia.

“The way the head poked out of the other snake’s mouth is new to me. “It’s the first time that I’ve caught a snake, and then another snake has poked its head out.”

Two images of the brown snake's head poking out of the red-bellied black snake.
A brown snake was filmed inside the mouth of a red-bellied black snake. Source: South East Reptile Relocations

Snake catcher shares video of snake eating another snake

Video shows the situation in grisly detail. Mitch can be heard confirming the baby eastern brown is still flicking its tongue despite being partially consumed by another animal.

The homeowners initially struggle to comprehend the unusual situation.

“There’s only one?,” a woman says.

“No, it's eating a baby one,” a man responds.

“Baby? There are two?”

“Yeah it’s eating a baby brown.”

“I knew it, there is another one.”

“No, but it’s in its mouth.”

Why the snake had another snake in its mouth

Mitch believes the red-belly had recently finished consuming the eastern brown tail and was resting when he arrived. Unaware the reptile had recently eaten, he pulled it by the tail to bag and relocate it. “Only once I got it out in the open the head popped out,” he said. “I had to look at it for a few seconds just to confirm that it was actually a snake sticking out of another snake's mouth.”

When he opened his bag to release the snakes, the smaller one could no longer be seen, leading Mitch to believe it had been consumed.

Hundreds of people responded after Mitch shared his story to Facebook, with many enthralled by the footage. “Get a load of this,” one person exclaimed. “Never have I seen this, pretty awesome to watch but,” someone else said.

Others were shocked by the video, commenting: “I can’t deal with this.” “Oh my lord!” “This is just wild.” "That’s insane."

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