A man in his 70s is fighting for life after being bitten by one of the world's most venomous snakes in his far north Queensland lounge room, paramedics say.
Several crews were called to the unconscious Cairns man's home just after 8pm Tuesday after reports he was "deteriorating quite rapidly".
Critical care flight paramedic Valerie Noble rushed the antivenom to the Yorkeys Knob home to meet other paramedics already performing CPR on the man, who had no pulse after being bitten by a coastal taipan.
She said they managed to inject the antivenom and the man regained a pulse shortly after.
"As far as we know, he was in his lounge and he had possibly confronted the snake or tried to get out of the lounge or tried to kill it with a spade but the snake was obviously quite feisty and bit him," she said, in audio provided by the Queensland Ambulance Service.
Ms Noble said the man had been bitten on his foot between his toes.
"There was quite a lot of blood on scene so potentially the snake had actually hit a vein instead of just into the tissue itself so it was quite a rapid almost injection of the venom," she said.
"This time of year, with the heat and the rain and everything the snakes are a lot more lively and they are on the move a bit more so just be careful as to when you're moving stuff and digging in bushes and things."
Paramedics said the man was rushed to the Cairns Base Hospital in a critical condition and the snake was later identified as a taipan.
Coastal taipans are the third most venomous land-based snake and have been responsible for many deaths, according to the Queensland Museum.
A snake bite in Brisbane about 10.15pm saw another patient taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition.