Deadly tiger snake is found wrapped around a Melbourne petrol pump - as catcher warns the reptiles are popping up all over the city

A Melbourne motorist has been left shocked after a 1.2metre tiger snake curled out from under his car and latched onto the petrol bowser.

Snake catcher Raymond Hoser retrieved the reptile and said the number of calls for eastern brown, tiger and copperhead snakes had spiked dramatically.

He also visited a Melbourne University to try and find a large tiger snake that crawled through a wall and hid in the cladding. 

Snake catcher Raymond Hoser has seen a huge spike in the number of call outs for eastern brown, copperhead and tiger snakes

The reptile wrapped around the petrol pump at Coles Express in Nunawading crawled out from underneath a car when the driver went inside to pay for petrol.  

'Deadly tiger snakes like this ripper specimen have been hitching rides in cars and turning up in weird places this week,' he said. 

Mr Hoser found the same type of snake at a Melbourne University but was unable to catch it during his visit.  

Mr Hoser was called to the Coles Express in Nunawading on Wednesday after the serpent crawled out from underneath a car when the driver went inside to pay for petrol

'It went up inside the cladding of the building, it could pop up on another floor and find its way out through a hole in an air conditioner or something like that,' he warned. 

Earlier in the week he found another tiger snake lurking around a children's swing set in Warrandyte at a local council park.

On the same day he retrieved a copperhead and a fat brown snake which was 1.8metres long.  

Mr Hoser explained that spring is the peak season for snake sightings as they all come out of hibernation.

The busiest month of the year is October but sightings have risen earlier in the season as people are spending more time in their backyards due to Victoria's stage four coronavirus lockdown.  

'Melbourne is usually cold and overcast so if it's sunny all the snakes come out at once. If we have a clear sky, no wind and sunny day, if we don't get 20 calls it is unusual,' he explained.

Mr Hoser said snake sightings usually peak on warm weekends but the pandemic had meant more sightings across the week.  

'Generally we are seeing more sightings this year. We are up about 30 per cent compared to normal, but it's hard to tell as it's only the start of the season.  

The snake catcher has also caught multiple black snakes in the past few months which are not native to the Melbourne area.

'One travelled from Bendigo to Surry Hills and after the car drove into the garage, the snake crawled out from underneath and went up into the bedroom where I caught it,' he said. 

Mr Hoser also caught one of the biggest female black snakes he has ever seen at Melbourne airport.

The reptile had hitched a ride from Tocumwal in southern new south wales and measured 1.75metres.

Snakes have also appeared at a local Melbourne university, children's park and in people's backyards

Mr Hoser said he has received 30 per cent more calls for snake sightings compared with this time last year due to warm weather and people being home during pandemic