Mamba mia! Black mamba rescued from jacuzzi pump

A LITTLE Black Mamba about 1,6m long was retrieved from a Northdene home’s jacuzzi pump.

Yet another poisonous snake has been caught in Northdene, the land of the slithering serpents, apparently.

Local snake catcher, Nick Evans rescued three Mozambique Spitting Cobras in Northdene last month.

Also read: Spitting cobra couple retrieved in Queensburgh

On Tuesday afternoon, 31 October, the Northdene family heard the daughter screaming when she spotted the snake from her bedroom window.

The father bolted in, in a panic, and spotted a Black Mamba stretched out across the burglar guards.

The snake moved down the burglar guards, onto the tin roof of the jacuzzi pump area. He poured a bottle of Jeyes Fluid down the gap where he saw the snake go. “When he told me that over the phone, I became really worried. If poured directly on the mamba, it would slowly suffocate to death from the toxic chemical,” said local snake catcher, Nick Evans.

“I went over to investigate with my friend, Andreas Mathios (Blue Security),” he said

When Nick arrived he noticed a hole in the bricks where the pipes were running to and from the jacuzzi, but couldn’t see the snake and assumed it had to be in the pipes.

“Sure enough, when I shone a torch, I could see a piece of its body. It was enough for me to tell that it was a Black Mamba, a small one at that. I prefer the bigger ones, they’re easier to work with, believe it or not,” he said.

With the permission of the homeowners they pulled off the tin roof and started knocking out some bricks.

Nick’s mate, Shane Pike, arrived with a chisel and quarter-pound hammer, and helped remove the bricks.

“We smashed away at the wall, until we got to the wall of the house, and after using the drill, we could no longer see the snake. It had edged itself further in,” said Nick.

Nick had to think of another plan and resorted to flooding the snake out using a hose.

“After about five minutes of letting it flood the mamba slowly inched out. A small, slippery mamba is not the easiest to catch, but fortunately, I got a good grip of him in my tongs, and then with my hand.

Also read: Sunlight brings spitting cobra back from the dead

“I held him behind the head, but he was now trying to pull away hard, which I wasn’t expecting. He had wrapped his tail around some of the rubble, using that as leverage. Shane came in and untangled the tail, and it came free. Phew! It was finally over,” said a relieved Nick.

The beautiful little mamba will be measured and tagged (ID microchip) before being released.