Python eats possum: Grim warning for pet owners after 'giant' snake was discovered in a backyard with an 'enormous' belly bulge

Pet owners have been urged to keep an eye on their pooches and kittens after a massive snake was discovered digesting something 'enormous'.

The carpet python was found on a property in Buderim, south of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland on Thursday, with a stomach bulge about the same size as a cat or a small dog.

Stuart from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers was called to remove the snake from the property and described its meal as 'the biggest food item I've ever seen'.

The snake catcher took the python to a veterinarian where a microchip scanner was passed over the bulge to see if a family's pet was inside.

It was released after the test determined no pet was inside, believing instead to have eaten a particularly large brushtail possum.

The python was released into a forested area by another employee of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, Dan.

He said male pythons are most active during the peak of summer after their mating season as they try to put weight back on before winter.

'Basically they've done their mating, females are all starting to lay eggs, so they won't be eating, but the boys wanna go and put the weight back on and get their conditioning ready for the next winter period,' he told Yahoo News.

A lot of the company's recent callouts for snake catches have been for pythons that have eaten 'Possums, birds, whatever they can get'.

While it is rare for a python to seek out a dog or cat because of their nocturnal eating habits, it isn't impossible.

'We've actually had a couple of instances where snakes have been wrapped around dogs. So it's good to be aware that there's that kind of threat to dogs as well,' Dan said.

He warned owners of small dogs and puppies to keep a particular eye on their pets especially if they tend to chase lizards or snakes.