In a startling incident in Gympie, Queensland, a father experienced a shocking wake-up call when his daughter discovered a snake in her pillowcase. At around 3am, 11-year-old Emily awoke her father, Michael Bonney, in a panic, having felt something moving in her pillow. Initially, she thought it was simply the curtains brushing against her bedding.
Half asleep, Bonney attempted to remove what he presumed was a cockroach by tipping the pillow into the bathtub for containment. To his astonishment, a yellow-faced whip snake emerged instead, having been nestled in the pillow where Emily had just been resting. “I said holy shit,” Bonney recalled, noting Emily’s reaction upon learning the truth—she was visibly shaken and was not going back to sleep any time soon.
Following the discovery, Bonney called a local snake catcher, who arrived within half an hour to safely remove the snake. Bonney speculated that the unwelcome visitor gained entry through a small gap in their front door—an issue he has since resolved. Despite the surprise of finding a snake so close to his daughter, Bonney described the creature as non-aggressive, highlighting that it had numerous opportunities to act defensively yet chose instead to remain calm.
He commented on the common misconceptions surrounding snakes, saying, “All this little guy wanted to do was have a nice little warm sleep.” Although bites from yellow-faced whip snakes are not life-threatening to humans, they can pose risks to small pets and can cause minor swelling, redness, or occasional nausea. Regardless, any snake bite should be medically examined.
This peculiar encounter serves as a reminder of the proximity of wildlife in suburban areas and the importance of securing homes against such unexpected visitors.