An Australian domestic flight was delayed by two hours after a stowaway snake was discovered in the plane’s cargo hold, officials reported Wednesday.

The snake was found Tuesday while passengers were boarding Virgin Australia Flight VA337 at Melbourne Airport, heading to Brisbane, said snake catcher Mark Pelley.

The snake was identified as a harmless 60-centimeter (2-foot) green tree snake, according to AFP.

However, Pelley admitted he initially feared it might be venomous when he encountered it in the dark cargo hold.

“It wasn’t until after I caught the snake that I realized that it wasn’t venomous. Until that point, it looked very dangerous to me,” Pelley said.

Pelley said he warned an aircraft engineer and airline staff that they would need to evacuate the plane if the snake went missing inside the aircraft.

“I said to them if I don’t get this in one shot, it’s going to sneak through the panels and you’re going to have to evacuate the plane because at that stage I did not know what kind of snake it was,” Pelley said.

Australia is home to many of the world’s most venomous snakes.