It's no partridge in a pear tree but a Melbourne woman got a seasonal surprise when she found a tiger snake entwined among the tinsel on her Christmas tree.
The Frankston woman discovered the serpent in her tree on Sunday morning and called in professional snake catcher Barry Goldsmith.
"It's one of the more different ones, but we find them in all sorts of places," Mr Goldsmith told AAP on Monday.
"Tiger snakes are very good climbers."
Mr Goldsmith, who runs Snake Catcher Victoria, says the woman did the right thing by taking a photo of the snake then closing off the room until a professional arrived.
With the warmer weather, snakes are more active, but people should leave them alone and not try and kill them, Mr Goldsmith said.
"It's dangerous, it's illegal, and it's cruel."
