- Rosie Wightman, 12, from Eumundi, Qld, loves her guinea pig Maxibon
- In January, a snake coiled itself around Maxibon’s neck
- Rosie grabbed the snake to save her beloved pet
Here Rosie tells her story in her own words.
Hanging out in the backyard, I clicked the record button on my phone.
‘Hello! Today I’ll be pampering my guinea pigs,’ I said to the camera.
I had two. Maxibon, named after my favourite ice cream, and Yo-Chi named after the frozen yoghurt!
I was obsessed with my furbabies, and our poodles Draco and Rusty, and liked to record them.
‘I was like a cowboy with a lasso!’
One Sunday afternoon in January this year, I was cleaning the guinea pigs’ cage in the yard while they roamed around when I suddenly lost sight of Maxibon.
‘Where are you, cutie?’ I called. Spotting him in the bushes, to my horror I could see something was wrapped around his neck.
Is that a snake?! I panicked. It was coiling tighter around his throat.
Without thinking, I grabbed the slippery 2m long snake by the tail.
Screaming, I pulled it out of the bushes, and swung it round with Maxibon still attached.
I was like a cowboy with a lasso!
‘The whole incident was caught on camera!
The reptile loosened its grip a little, only to grab tiny Maxibon by his leg!
As I spun the wriggling snake I was desperate to save my furbaby!
Hearing my screams, my dad, Luke, 43, ran to the rescue, yanking the slithery sucker out of my hands.
Meanwhile my mum, Grace, 42, sprinted into the garden in her PJs.
Dad managed to free my guinea pig from the snake and toss it to the other side of the backyard. Terrified, poor Maxibon scampered into the bushes.
Coaxing him out, I cradled him. ‘Are you okay, little guy?’ I sobbed.
My worried mum and sister Elizabeth, 16, came to soothe me and my little sis Jessica, eight, soon followed.
When Rusty sniffed close to the snake, Dad panicked and threw it into our neighbour’s garden.
Thankfully they were understanding when Dad let them know.
He found the snake – a python – curled up in a tree in their backyard.
Using an old crutch, he managed to get the snake to latch onto it, then guided the python into the bush behind our property.
As it was non-poisonous, Mum and Dad decided not to call a snake catcher.
‘Always grab an adult before grabbing a snake,’ Mum and Dad said the next day.
Later, we realised the whole crazy incident was caught on our security camera!
Sharing the clip on social media, it went viral.
Peters Ice Cream caught wind of my story, and gave us a lifetime supply of Maxibons! And Bindi Irwin – my hero – even sent me a signed copy of her book.
Since my guinea pig is famous now, I set up his own Instagram page @rosiespigtales1.
I’m just so glad Maxibon survived his epic battle!
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