Any magician can pull a rabbit out of a hat, but how many people can pull a towel out of a snake?
Veterinarians in Australia have pulled off their own bizarre magic trick after they conducted surgery on a pet carpet python to remove a full-sized beach towel from its throat.
The patient was a five-kilogram, 18-year-old female snake named Monty Python, according to a statement from the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) in Sydney.
Monty’s owners brought the snake in after they saw it devouring a late-night snack, the hospital said in a Facebook post.
“She was seen eating an entire beach towel the night before!” SASH wrote on Facebook.
SASH said vets gave the snake some anesthetic and used a radiograph to confirm that the towel was still inside its belly. Then, they put an endoscope camera down Monty’s throat and used forceps to carefully grab the tip of the towel.
Footage recorded through the endoscope camera shows the moment when the tiny claw actually grabs the towel inside the snake’s belly. The towel appears to be covered in a thick layer of goo.
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“Once we had a good grip, the towel was able to be carefully removed from the gastrointestinal tract with endoscopic guidance,” SASH wrote.
Video shows one vet holding the snake’s mouth open while the other carefully pulls the tip of the towel out. Eventually, the second vet sets the forceps down and starts a one-sided tug-o-war with the towel.
The vet later showed off the full-sized towel for the camera.
“It was smiles all around and we’re happy to report that both Monty and the beach towel have lived to see another day!” SASH said.
The snake was discharged that same day and is doing well, the hospital says.
Hospital staff are calling the episode “Monty Python and the Missing Beach Towel.”
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