Temperatures tempting Snakes to hide in bathrooms

Australia, Jan 30: In Australia, snakes frequently sneak into rural backyards and homes. When the weather gets warm, they hideaway in the sun.

When it gets hot, they seek cool places: a wall slit, under a refrigerator, under a barbecue grill, behind an AC unit, whereas when it gets too hot and dry, they seek places with moisture, as some Australians are instantly learning.

As the country experiences a record-setting heat wave, a snake catcher in Queensland had to remove snakes from people s bathrooms. Also, the snake catcher shared his experience writing on his Facebook page.

Last week, he removed a 7-feets python that had paased quitely into an open door and climbed into the shower not only to escape the heat but also to find water. Days earlier, he pulled a small tree snake that had curled up in another homeowner s toilet bowl.

Also recently, an inexperienced woman went into a densely bright bathroom of a Brisbane home, not bothering to look into the toilet bowl. After she sat down, she felt a "tap" on her skin followed by a sharp pain, Helen Richards told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. She looked down and saw a python looking up at her.

In the southeastern corner of the country, overnight temperatures were as high as 96 degrees - the warmest overnight lows for January anywhere in the world.

Australia s climate has warmed by just over 33 degrees since 1910, leading to more frequent heat waves and severe drought conditions, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Eight of Australia s top-10 warmest years on record have happened in the past 13 years.

And with warmer weather come more snake sightings. Snake season starts in September, the beginning of spring in Australia. It goes on throughout the summer, from December to February.

Unfortunately, that has not always held true. Huntley, the snake catcher, was called a couple of weeks ago to a home where a python ate a house cat.