'Only in Australia': Five metre-long carpet snake filmed interrupting family lunch

The large carpet snake can be seen slithering off the roof of a house and into a tree. Credit: TikTok/@Iamiandyi

A giant "five metre-long" snake has been filmed interrupting a family lunch in Australia.

A video that has been shared widely on social media shows the massive reptile sliding off the roof of a southeast Queensland house and into some nearby trees.

The clip was originally posted on TikTok and has also racked up millions of views on X, formerly Twitter, after it was posted with the caption: “Only in Australia will you see a 5 metre long Carpet Snake in the suburbs”.

It is unclear what the actual length of the snake is, but the video showed the reptile stretching across the roof of the suburban house.

The python was captured on camera by a shocked family who could be heard discussing the strange sighting, while one of their children was screaming in the background.

Another child could be overheard saying: “Dad could be able to catch him”, before someone interjects saying: “No, dad’s scared of snakes, mate”.

Morelia spilota, known as the carpet python, is part of the nonvenomous Pythonidae snake family, commonly found in Australia, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands.

They are named for their unique markings, which resemble a carpet pattern, according to SeaWorld.

The reptiles can have black and grey patterns of blotches, cross bands, stripes, or a combination of these markings, on a light yellowish, dark brown base. 

Carpet pythons live almost everywhere in Australia except Tasmania, and the Queensland government has previously warned residents to "look out for them in undergrowth, in tree branches, or the roof of your house or shed."

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