Golf balls removed from snake sell on eBay

CURRUMBIN, Australia, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- An Australian carpet python's mistake will help other animals now that the golf balls it swallowed have been sold on eBay.

The high bid was $1,401 Australian ($1,253 U.S.), the Gold Coast Bulletin reported. The money will go to help build an animal hospital at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

The winner gets the still-unwashed balls, as well as X-rays and photographs of the python before and after successful surgery to remove them.

The python, newly named Augusta, swallowed the golf balls during a visit to a hen house last month. The owner had placed the balls in a brood hen's nest to encourage egg laying.

Veterinarians at Currumbin determined that the python would not simply eliminate the golf balls and decided to operate to save the snake's life.

"Augusta the snake has received widespread media coverage, and his eBay items have proved just as intriguing as the story of how he swallowed the golf balls," said David Luxton, the sanctuary's marketing manager.