Kit Carson, 59, said he was searching for the origin of the strange noises coming from a woman's car at Cheaper Car Air-Conditioning when he spotted the snake, which the mechanic said may have been wrapped around the car's air conditioning fan for an entire week, the Northern Territory News reported Monday.

"Him and I both got a jump," Carson said of the snake."He'd been spinning around like a bloody washing machine, but the end of his tail must have been hanging out -- it was all feathered and ratty."

Carson said he loaded the 3-foot-long snake into a bucket and took it to the Ark Animal Hospital in the town of Yarrawonga. Veterinarians said the snake is recovering, but they had to amputate about 2 inches from the end of the reptile's tail.