The horrifying moment a giant snake sank its teeth into the arm of a seasoned reptile handler has been captured on video.
Jay Brewer founded The Reptile Zoo in Fountain Valley, California and regularly posts videos to Instagram showcasing his various interactions with the zoo's animals.
Brewer is vastly experienced when it comes to handling reptiles whether it be crocodiles, alligators or the park's impressive array of snakes.
However, he got a little more than he bargained for while dealing with the zoo's 20-foot reticulated piebald python.
In a video posted to Instagram, the seasoned reptile handler gives fans a closer look at the trials and tribulations involved in moving a giant snake from a nesting box to another enclosure.
Posted to Brewer's jayprehistoricpets account, the clip makes for a difficult watch, but that hasn't prevented it from racking up 975,000 views.
Right from the start, Brewer is under no illusions that the snake, who he dubs "Grumpy Super Mom" on account of the eggs she is protecting, will try and bite him.
"I guarantee at some point she is gonna turn into super mom on me," he tells the cameraman.
Initially, it appears that the snake only has eyes for the cameraman and in one unsettling moment, snaps out at them, prompting nervous laughter all round.
It's not long before the snake's attention becomes firmly fixed on Brewer.
The reptile enthusiast acknowledges that while the snake is "a beast of a reticulated python" dealing with her is a "matter of burning her energy out so she can be put away safely."
That plan quickly goes out the window though when, after several narrow misses, the snake ends up giving him what he initially describes as a "love tap" on his left forearm.
The only saving grace for Brewer is that he opted to wear a coat designed to "take a bite" while handling the snake.
Even so, the resulting bite leaves his arm bloodied and with a couple of distinctive puncture wounds that are clearly visible on camera.
Later, as the extent of his wound becomes apparent, Brewer admits he has "never had a bite that bad through a coat."
Despite this, he's still able to successfully lug the giant snake over to another reptile enclosure, narrowly avoiding being bitten again along the way.
Reflecting on the incident in a comment posted alongside the video, Brewer confessed that this particular snake has "never really liked me."
He also explained that the snake was just "defending her eggs" and is "only one generation from a wild snake" which makes her "a little more crazy."
This isn't the first time Brewer or his zoo have gone viral following a close encounter of the reptilian kind.
In August, his daughter and fellow reptile enthusiast Juliette got herself into a spot of bother after a hungry alligator by the name of Darth Gator escaped from his enclosure at dinner time.
Prior to that, Brewer ended up getting a nasty bite on the face after another python at the park lashed out in another shocking viral video encounter.
Newsweek has reached out to Brewer for comment.
UPDATE 9/08/21 10:35 a.m. ET: This article was updated with the picture of a piebald python replaced by that of a reticulated python.
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