Students at a school on the NSW Mid North Coast got more than they bargained for when they discovered snake eggs in their sand pit.
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Wildlife volunteers were called to the school in Laurieton on December 20 and removed 12 eggs from the sandpit.
Later that same afternoon, the students discovered more eggs buried in the sand.
The sand pit was closed for safety reasons so that volunteers could thoroughly search the area and remove the eggs.
The volunteers identified the eggs as being brown snake eggs.
Yvette Attleir, a Fawna Wildlife Rescue volunteer, said after three days of digging they discovered seven nests and 43 eggs.
She said it was estimated the eggs would have hatched within two weeks of the discovery.
Ms Attleir said the sand pit was the perfect place for the snakes to nest as the sand had recently just been laid.
"The sand was still fresh and loose and would have provided the perfect place for snakes to regulate the eggs due to the temperature," she said.
The school's sand pit backs on to a reserve and the Fawna volunteers believe the eggs could have been laid by up to two brown snakes.
Yvette said once the eggs were laid by the mother, the baby snakes are then left to hatch independently.
She said when the babies hatched they were already an inch long and could pose a threat to humans.
All the eggs were carefully removed by volunteers.
