Copperhead Snake Found By Christmas Tree, Grants 13-Year-Old Girl’s Wish

Christmas day is almost here and kids have the wildest wishes for the holidays. In the case of 13-year-old Ella Richardson, she wanted a snake for the Yuletide season. Somehow, that wish was granted by accident.

Felicity Richardson was woken up by their three barking dogs at around 1:00 a.m. on Monday. Initially, she thought it was only a mouse or a rabbit. She was surprised to find a copperhead snake instead.

She moved the dogs to another area and got hold of the largest pot available from the kitchen. Richardson put it over the snake and woke up her daughter to see it. It turns out that Ella had always wanted a snake.

"I put it over the snake and then woke my daughter … she absolutely loves snakes and would have been devastated if she missed out," Richardson said in a report from ABC.

From there, the two of them got some chopping boards and slid them under the pot. They transferred the snake to a larger container while calling it into Reptile Rescue Tasmania.

"[I had to take] some time to gather my thoughts, calm myself and get my adrenalin in check," she said.

Catcher Justin Kneebone explained that this kind of request for help is nothing new during the Australian summer. He revealed how they would get 40 to 50 calls on a good day and that snakes were just trying to get out of the heat and finding a shady spot, regardless if this is a house or elsewhere.

He added that snakes can squeeze in through the smallest gaps beneath the door and it was pets who would be the first ones to discover them. In the case of Richardson, the snake may have come through the open sliding door which she kept open due to the heat.

“We are now very careful, making sure the sliding door or screen is always shut and the dog door is locked at night-time,” she said.

Though they managed to capture it, Kneebone adds that people should not try to capture it. Instead, they should be confined to one room and stuff towels under the door to keep them there.

Their venom is extremely toxic and a bite from an adult copperhead is potentially fatal to humans if left untreated.

For Ella, it is a wish come true, suggesting it was Santa who placed it there.

“She named it Ryan and suggested that Santa finally came through with the goods, and delivered her a snake under the tree,” Richardson said.