A Thai man who fought off a three-metre (10-foot) python that bit his penis while he was squatting on the toilet is recovering, hospital staff said Saturday.

Atthaporn Boonmakchuay was admitted after surviving the nightmare encounter with a snake hiding in the toilet plumbing at his home in Chachoengsao province east of Bangkok.

"He can urinate as normal and his pain from the wound has reduced," Rungnapa Sehawong, a supervisor at the local Chularat 11 hospital, told AFP.

The 38-year-old was being treated with antibiotics and would likely be released in a few days, she added.

In an interview from his hospital bedside after the incident Wednesday, a smiling Atthaporn told local TV channels the toilet appeared empty when he peaked in before taking a squat.

"But after a while (the snake) rose from the toilet bowl and bit me," he said, explaining how he grabbed the serpent's neck to prevent it from taking him down.

"At first I thought my penis was gone and already torn apart, because it was really very strong," he added.

But he managed to pry open the python's jaws, after which his wife and neighbour rushed to the blood-splattered scene to cover the snake's head with a plastic bag.

A rescue team later took a hammer to the toilet to free the serpent and release it into the wild, local media reported.

While the toilet was damaged in the process, it gave Atthaporn's wife reason to make a new purchase: a shiny modern flush toilet.