In Eumundi, Queensland, 12-year-old Rosie Wightman grabbed a snake by its tail and swung it after finding it with her guinea pig, Maxibon, in its mouth. Her father, Luke, intervened; Maxibon got away and survived. The dramatic rescue was dangerous, not a safe way to handle a snake.
What happened to Maxibon?
Rosie was tending to the family’s guinea pigs and trying to return them to their hutch when Maxibon ran beneath a bush. She found a snake holding the guinea pig in its mouth and grabbed the snake’s tail, swinging it while Maxibon remained at the other end. Her father came outside and freed Maxibon. The guinea pig escaped and was reported safe back in his cage; a later account said he had a few scratches.
Rosie described her split-second reaction to PerthNow: “Didn’t even think it through. I was just like, ‘grab the snake, grab the snake’.”
Was the snake a python?
The species has not been established in the available reports. The family thought it was likely a python, and a snake expert considered that plausible, but the footage did not make identification certain. 7NEWS noted that the snake’s brown appearance and pale belly could fit more than one species, including an eastern brown or a python. It should not be described as a confirmed python.
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Storyful’s video listing attributes both the python identification and a length of 2.5 metres to Rosie’s father, Luke Wightman. Those are family-reported details, not an independently confirmed identification or measurement.
Why grabbing a snake is not a safe rescue method
Steven Hall, a snake venom expert and pharmacology lecturer at Lancaster University, told The Washington Post: “I can certainly say that’s not a ‘safe’ way to handle snakes, though I can appreciate the girl’s panic and reflex to rescue her pet.” He said the snake’s attention was on the animal in its mouth and that holding the far end of its tail made it less likely to swing around and bite Rosie. That was his assessment of this particular incident, not a handling recommendation.
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Hall said it likely would have been safest for Rosie and her family to leave the snake and pet alone. The video captures a frightening emergency, but it does not show a method others should copy. If you encounter a snake near a pet, keep people away and avoid trying to grab or move the snake; seek help from an appropriately qualified local professional.
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What the reports establish—and what they do not
- Established: Rosie was 12, the incident took place at the family home in Eumundi, and Maxibon survived after her father intervened.
- Not established: The snake’s species and an independently verified measurement of its length.
- Safety context: A quoted snake expert said handling it this way was not safe and that leaving the snake and pet alone likely would have been safest.
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