By David Allan-Petale
A dugite snake has had a lucky escape from netting protecting a pond at a home in the Perth Hills.
Adam Firstenberg from Perth Hills Snake Removal said he and partner Lisa Harrap were called to the residence in Forrestfield after the owner spotted the snake trapped in the wire barrier on Sunday.
"Unfortunately, netting is a huge risk to snakes, and cause some serious damage," Mr Firstenberg said.
"Unbelievably, this guy came away with nothing but some very minor scratches, which is amazing considering how tangled up he was. We always treat these cases as urgent, so we rushed to free him."
The snake wranglers got to work, pulling the snake out of the pond fence with the netting still wrapped around its body.
They then held the snake on the back patio decking at the home, and cut it free using a pair of scissors.
Mr Firstenberg then put the snake in a handling container, took it to a patch of bushland and released it back into the wild.
The rescue was captured on camera and posted to the Perth Hills Snake Removal Facebook page.
"Pretty decent size. Quite healthy looking," Mr Firstenberg said, taking the dugite out of the box.
"And ended up with no actual injuries, which is great. So now we're just going to let him go."
With a flick of the wrist the dugite was freed from the handling stick and slithered into the bush quick smart.
The dugite is one of the most common snakes in the Perth area and is considered very dangerous to humans - though the species is very shy.
Summer is a very active time for dugites and people who have been bitten are urged to seek immediate medical attention while also applying a pressure-immobilisation bandage over the injury and along the limb or affected area.