Nightmare As Child Lifts Toilet Seat Lid To Find 5ft Python: 'Biggest Fear'

An elementary school child made a shocking discovery on going to use the toilet at his local netball club on Wednesday morning.

Lifting the lid, the boy found a 5-foot carpet python looking back at him from the toilet bowl.

The boy ran to tell an adult, who quickly called in snake catcher Steve Brown of Brisbane North Snake Catchers and Relocation.

"[The carpet python] was very placid and I think it was very thankful to be removed," Brown told Newsweek.

The incident took place at the Pine Rivers Netball Club in northern Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. Brown said that carpet pythons were "extremely common" in the area.

"Most of the time [they are] very docile, but can cause a nasty bite if made to feel threatened," he said.

Coastal carpet pythons are a subspecies of carpet python that are found mostly along the east coast of Australia. They are non-venomous and kill their prey by constriction.

According to the Queensland Department of Environment and Species, carpet pythons can grow to over 13 feet long, although they rarely exceed 8 feet. Their camouflaged scales allow them to hide among the leaf litter, in hollow trees, and rocky crevices, where they are usually found. This camouflage does not, however, work in a silver, shiny toilet bowl.

Brown said that finding snakes in toilets was not that uncommon. "This is the third one I've removed from a toilet," he said. "My guess is that they enter the sewage system somewhere. Also they can enter through the inspection grate that's normally outside inline with the toilet."

Just five days ago, a man from Thailand found a 50-pound python peeking out of his U-bend. Two months before, a man in Hervey Bay, Queensland, found a 4-foot tree snake in his toilet.

Brown shared the most recent incident in a post on his Facebook page that has been viewed thousands of times and received dozens of concerned comments.

"Note to oneself: do not, I repeat DO NOT, go to the loo there," said one user.

"This is legit my biggest fear when going to the toilet in the middle of the night," said another.

Brown said that, should you ever find a snake in your home or on your property, you should always call in a professional. "Pulling on a snake too much or twisting it can cause serious injury to the snake and can result in a nasty bite."