An Australian vet has captured the moment a beach towel was pulled from the stomach of a three metre long snake.
Monty, an 18-year-old female carpet python, was taken to the Small Animal Specialist Hospital in Sydney, after her family caught her swallowing the towel.
The snake was anaesthetised before an endoscope was placed down her throat, which allowed the vets to see the beach accessory.
They then used tongs to pull the entire towel out.
A video of the surgery was uploaded to Facebook by the North Ryde hospital.
The towel was still in tact after it was extracted from the family pet's stomach.
“A flexible endoscope was placed down Monty’s gastrointestinal tract, which allowed us to visualise the end of the towel sitting in her stomach,” the hospital said.
“With assistance from our internal medicine team, very long forceps were placed through the endoscope and used to grasp the towel.
“Once we had a good grip, the towel was able to be carefully removed from the gastrointestinal tract with endoscopic guidance.”
The hospital added: "It was smiles all round and we're happy to report that both Monty and the beach towel have lived to see another day!".
The snake was given to the vet's Avian and Exotics Department after the family brought her in the morning after she swallowed it. She was discharged the same day.
“We see all kinds of interesting cases in our Avian and Exotics Department,” the hospital said.
“But it’s not every day we see something quite as unusual and as extraordinary as this case.”
