Largest Aussie snake weighs 302 pounds

GOSFORD, Australia, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Workers at an Australian reptile park said Atomic Betty, a reticulated python believed to be the country's largest snake, weighed in at 302 pounds.

Staff at the Australian Reptile Park in Gosford said the 21-foot reptile weighed in Wednesday at 4 1/2 pounds heavier than at last year's total, Sky News reported Tuesday.

Tim Faulkner, the park's operations manager, said getting Atomic Betty out of her enclosure and to the scales area is a delicate operation, which this year took six reptile keepers a half hour.

"The scary thing is that she has the ability to crush us," Faulkner said. "You've got about a second to grab (her head) because as we go down they've got extremely good vision and she is going to strike."