Golf balls swallowed by and extracted from a snake were placed for sale on eBay, with the highest bid totalling $1,401 Australian, or $1,253 US.

The four balls which were taken from inside a carpet python at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary last week were posted for sale on the online auction, still unwashed. The winner will also receive X-rays and photographs of Augusta, the python, with the balls still inside, and after the balls were taken out by surgery.

The notice received more than 500 interested bidders, all vying for the chance to own the items.

The idea of putting the golf balls for auction was that of the veterinarians who took them out of the snake, with them surmising that the profits could be used to fund for a new wildlife hospital.

David Luxton, the executive marketing manager of the sanctuary, revealed that a new hospital would be built on community and corporate contributions, totally without any aid from the government.

"This hospital is inundated with more than 4000 animals each year, and space is such a premium, we need a new hospital built as soon as possible to cope with the demand," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Luxton.

The auction is expected to attract international attention, as the story of Augusta was something that garnered worldwide interest.

"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," the UPI quoted Luxton.

The golf balls ended up inside the python when the owner made them out as faux chicken eggs, which he placed under a hen, with the intention being to encourage the hen to lay eggs. The python swallowed the balls when he managed to enter the henhouse.