Snake bite victims in Australia have been urged not to bring the snakes with them to the hospital. It's not necessary and only creates a new problem, say officials. "We honestly don't want people interacting with snakes any more than they already have," said Dr. Adam Michael, a director of emergency medicine at Bundaberg Hospital in Queensland.
Dr Michael said the eastern brown brought in earlier this month was "not very well secured" and was wriggling around trying to get out. "The staff got a fright and the serious consequence of that is it delays people's time to treatment," he said. "We want people to be able to get seen and assessed quickly and having a live snake in the department slows up that process."
3,000 snake bites a year in Australia, with 100-200 requiring antivenom treatment, according to ABC News, citing a University of Newcastle researcher. Deaths are very rare.
Previously: What would snakes look like if they were fluffy?
