WATCH: Boomslang slithers in family’s Christmas tree

A Western Cape family found an unusual decoration on their Christmas tree on Friday – a venomous boomslang.

In a video recorded by the surprised homeowners, the snake can be seen slithering among the branches of the Christmas tree in a house on a farm near McGregor, in the Western Cape.

The family quickly called snake rescuer Gerrie Heyns.

Heyns said when he was sent photos of the boomslang, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Now this is a first for me! They sent me two photos and I couldn’t believe my eyes! Yes … Boomslang in their Christmas tree!” Heyns said in a Facebook post.

Heyns was 62 kilometres from the family’s farm, so he told them to keep their eyes on the snake, but warned them not to bother it.

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He said when he arrived at their home 90 minutes later, the boomslang hadn’t gone far.

In the video, you can see Heyns using his snake-catching tongs to try pry the reptile from the tree. As the snake emerges near the bottom of the tree, Heyns tries to grab it but it drops to the floor and the reptile makes a desperate attempt to escape.

“I’ve got it, don’t worry,” says Heyns as he catches it on his second attempt.

The snake thrashes around before realising its efforts to get away are pointless.

Heyns said he only released the snake back into nature the next morning as “it was starting to get dark already”.

In a separate video, Heyns shows the snake gratefully climbing up a tree after being released.

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