A two-year-old boy is fighting for his life in a Brisbane hospital a week after being bitten three times by one of the deadliest snakes in the world.
Eli had to be revived by paramedics when bitten by a coastal taipan on September 26 while collecting eggs from the chicken pen in the backyard of his parents' central Queensland home at Agnes Waters.
Snake experts say Eli is lucky to be alive as the coastal taipan is among the six most venomous snakes in the world, and children are far more susceptible to their bites.
It's thought the snake was likely searching for rats and mice when caught off-guard by the toddler.
"Despite being common, it's rare for people to encounter them. They're actually quite elusive, a very shy snake," Sydney-based Snakes in the City owner Harley Jones told AAP.
"It's rare. He's really unlucky.
"You're more likely to be hit by lightning."
Dan Lynch from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers believed Eli may have even accidentally stood on the snake considering it actually struck him three times.
"If it's pinned to the ground it could have turned around and had three goes," he said.
Family friend Blake Hyland, who lives nearby in the rural township, said the little boy suffered a heart attack and is now on life support after being airlifted to Brisbane's Lady Cilento Childrens Hospital.
He said doctors were hoping to take him off ventilators so he can breathe on his own but they are also worried about other complications.
Mr Hyland has set up a GoFundMe page to help Eli's parents Brittany and Giles stay in Brisbane to assist his recovery, and by Monday afternoon it had raised almost almost two-thirds of the $20,000 target.
"The situation has caused Eli's family to have to drop everything to be by his side at the hospital which is almost 500 kilometres away," he said.
