Snakes in Australia

[Klue]

As the weather has been warming up, Australian Snakes have been coming out of Hibernation. This season I have already seen a couple of Diamond Pythons and a few Whip Snakes, and my neighbour found a small Red Bellied Black snake in the corner of their yard (that is 2 meters where I spend a lot of my time.


Australia has a very diverse range of Snakes, some of the most deadliest in the world. What are your snake stories? Have you observed any this year? Has MazDan wrangled any Browns in the last couple of years?

This is the snake I observed in my front yard this morning, and in my back yard this afternoon...

I'm not much into the nomenclature of Snakes but a quick google tells me it is of the Genus Demansia. I can see my interest in snakes being a life long thing. Ssssssssss

Snakes in Australia.

 

[up all night]

I don't mind snakes. We used to get tonnes of them at home, mostly red bellies. I lived across the road from an orchard so they were always coming over to check things out. I only ever got nervous when I saw babies because I knew there was a protective mama somewhere nearby.

A brown snake also killed my Nan's dog while the dog was protecting my cousins which was pretty sad, but what an awesome dog.

 

[joannie_mhm]

My only snake story is about my mother in law, who was bitten by a brown snake when she was a child.

It was back when they used to say to make a cut and suck the venom out - which is what her father did. Unfortunately he didn't have a knife handy, so he made the cut with a circular saw, which was apparently a whole lot more traumatic than the actual bite!

Personally, I'm not even sure I've seen a snake outside of a zoo - I certainly never saw any around suburban Brisbane and can't even think of seeing any when camping/bushwalking.

 

[Klue]

^ That's so sad! Maybe a trip down to Royal National Park should be on the cards this spring?!

I don't mind snakes. We used to get tonnes of them at home, mostly red bellies. I lived across the road from an orchard so they were always coming over to check things out. I only ever got nervous when I saw babies because I knew there was a protective mama somewhere nearby.

A brown snake also killed my Nan's dog while the dog was protecting my cousins which was pretty sad, but what an awesome dog.

I believe it's not so bad to have a Black Snake around, because they eat Brown Snakes. So, you're better off having a Black's territory near your house because they keep the browns away. Or, so I am let to believe

 

[up all night]

Really? I didn't know that. They were never really a problem, anyway.

Usually we'd let them live but when we were kids my parents used to kill them with a spade because I guess it wasn't worth risking. When we got older they only died if Dad found them in the shed.

Oh and another snake story I remember was when I was playing in the orange orchard factory and a snake came right at me and my neighbour. We freaked out because a snake had never come at us before, and jumped onto a forklift. I refused to come down until it had been killed so there was a bunch of poor factory workers trying to kill this snake. I feel kinda bad about it now, the snake was probably just terrified.

 

[Klue]

^ Attitudes have really changed in the last 15 or 20 years towards the environment


I have tonnes of stories, but the most prominent one in my mind was when, as a child my dad and I watched a Brown Snake chase and kill a rat. We were in some Rainforest on a remote farm and dad noticed it first. lol, my first instinct was to run like all fuck but we were a safe distance to observe. Fucking incredible. A 200cm Brown hunting down a frantic rat.

Not something I will forget in a hurry

 

[MazDan]

My brother claims he saw a tiger snake on the weekend down the coast, reckons it rose up like a python and all.

My brother drinks a lot.

 

[Klue]

I have seen a Night Tiger Snake in my time. It was coiled up in a massive (I mean 6m long 3 meters high0 set of in built cupboard that was full of my mum's fabric. One of my sisters was going though a pile of folded fabric and put her had on it. Luckily it didn't wake up

 

[baysieguy1]

when I first came to Oz, I was labouring for a landscaper, I was working bare foot, was beautiful weather. I was walking around the side of the house wheeling a barrow when something went over my foot. The landscapers house was next to a national park (somewhere in Sydney I don't remember where). When I looked down I saw a black snake and saw a dart of red, I told the landscaper who promptly came out of the house with a rifle, to no avail the snake had gone by then. It was an interesting experience, good job the snake was in a good mood I guess.

 

[lostpunk5545]

Lucky it was gone. So sick of hearing of people killing snakes for no reason. Just leave them alone. All snakes are protected in Australia (under the National Parks and Wildlife Act) - that makes killing them illegal. And doing so also makes you a redneck prick.

Red-Bellied Blacks aren't that poisonous and anyone bitten will be fine as long as they follow all the rules. Pressure bandage, sit and be calm, and wait for an ambulance.

I'm outdoors a lot, in the bush and I come across snakes regularly. I have never had an issue with a snake ever. Most of the time they run away or they're sun baking and don't move.

The closest I've seen to anyone having an issue is in the NT when a snake hissed at a friend because he was between it and escape. It hissed, he jumped back, and the snake bolted into the water.

This is a service for snake removal in Sydney and I assume every capital city would have similar services.

Snake Removal

The presence of snakes in urban areas results in many calls for assistance, particularly during the warmer summer months. UWS offers its snake removal service as a backup to the volunteer services offered by:

Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services (SMWS)
9413 4300

Ensure to keep an eye on the snake and have someone call for immediate assistance. Where volunteers are unavailable, please contact UWS and watch the snake until a snake catcher arrives.

Additionally UWS offers 'Snake Property Inspections' whereby a particular property can be inspected in order to identify areas of concern as far as snake habitation.
A written report containing a description of the areas of concern, along with suggested remedial measures is then supplied. The purpose of such a report is to aid landholders in deterring snakes and does not in any way guarantee that snakes will not be encountered on the property in the future.

http://sydney.citysearch.com.au/E/V/SYDNE/0043/06/72/4.html

Possum & Snake Capture
All Areas, NSW
Daily 9:00am- 5:00pm
Tel: (0419) 015 257
Fax: (02) 8850-6366
Email: [email protected]
Cash, Cheque

Urban Wildlife Services (UWS) specialises in the effective control of wildlife throughout the Sydney metropolitan and surrounding areas.

Recommended by NPWS, RSPCA and Wires, UWS provides long term solutions to problems arising from the presence of nuisance or displaced wildlife such as possums, rats, cats, foxes, birds and snakes.

 

[n3ophy7e]

I LOVE snakes!!!

Growing up out on my parents farm on the outskirts of Sydney, we saw snakes very frequently.

A few stories that stick out in my mind:

*We regularly saw huge brown snakes slither across the lawn, while we were playing on it! We'd all scream and scatter in different directions away from said snake. Pretty scary but also very cool. The snakes were totally not interested in us, just getting from point A to point B %)

*My mum found red-belly snakes curled up in her sheets on a few different occasions, she would pick up the sheets and take them outside and fling the snake out on to the lawn. Pretty cool for us kids watching from inside the house

*One of the reasons that me and my partner now have my Jack Russell at OUR place, and not on the farm, is because he started killing brown snakes He is amazingly fast, my brother watched in horror once as he snapped a brown snake just behind the head so he wouldn't get bitten, and shook him around until the spine snapped and the snake went limp. Horrifying!! He's killed about 12 snakes that we know of, of varying sizes. So yes, he is at our place now, with no snakes around....

And a real doozy, make sure you're not eating when you read this:

NSFW:

The water out of the taps in the house (i.e. coming from the main water tank) started smelling a bit odd when we were having showers, and gradually it began to taste odd too, like a musty kind of taste. Dad got down to have a look inside the tank and found a decomposing red belly floating on top. He picked it up and all the decaying insides dribbled out the snake's mouth :D *gags*

 

[Klue]

^ Great stories. So are there other breeds of Dog that are likely to be able to take on Venomous snakes? My Black lab never killed one as far as I know, and he had 1000's of Hectares of Heathland as his territory. He loved chasing wallabies though

Dad killed and dissected a green tree snake that had eaten one of my finches. The albino finch was in there, no wonder they all went missing :D
I remember, that even 20 years ago dad admired snakes and probably hated handling and destroying it. But we do these things for our children.

Anyone ever seen a Bandy Bandy?

I've seen a couple. Had one in a jar for a few years as a kid too

 

[MazDan]

My brother, yeah the one that drinks a lot, his dog is what appears to be a jack russell, terrier border collie sort of heinz variety and it has apparently managed to catch 2 browns that wandered in from next door. Both were only small for browns, maybe 3-4 feet but I expect that there must have been some mums and dads around much bigger.

It killed them both. I find it amazing that they seem to know how to deal with them without being killed or bitten themselves or maybe they have some sort of immunity??

About 3 months ago I was at my parents home down the coast and was cleaning out there gutters when i came across the biggest skin I have ever seen. It was at least 8 feet long and was in amazing condition although when I tried to move it it was stuck to the gutter in spots and broke.

It appeared to be a diamond python.

Mum and dad reckon they had seen a 3 metre one some months earlier curled up in the yard but I had difficulty believing the size.........after seeing this I was a believer.

The only way we could figure the skin got there was that a kookaburra lifted it up there. Surely the snake couldnt have gotten up there.

 

[The Narrator]

I LOVE snakes!!!
And a real doozy, make sure you're not eating when you read this:

NSFW:

The water out of the taps in the house (i.e. coming from the main water tank) started smelling a bit odd when we were having showers, and gradually it began to taste odd too, like a musty kind of taste. Dad got down to have a look inside the tank and found a decomposing red belly floating on top. He picked it up and all the decaying insides dribbled out the snake's mouth :D *gags*

err that happened to us with our neighbours kitten.. not pretty. Although we didnt pick it out of the water tank we got our plumber friend to do that...

On the topic of snakes, had various encounters with them, mostly browns and tigers, they've never really caused me any bother so I've returned the favour.
The only one that really scares me is the taipan because its a venomous motherfucker and not real friendly. When I was in the NT I heard from quite a few different people how they had been chased by them, including one guy who got surprised by a baby one while taking a crap out bush and ran back into the campsite with a <1m snake chasing after him

 

[vanth]

There were lots of brown snakes on the farm I grew up on. A few actually came into my room when I was a baby (at different times).

 

[Klue]

About 3 months ago I was at my parents home down the coast and was cleaning out there gutters when i came across the biggest skin I have ever seen. It was at least 8 feet long and was in amazing condition although when I tried to move it it was stuck to the gutter in spots and broke.

It appeared to be a diamond python.

Mum and dad reckon they had seen a 3 metre one some months earlier curled up in the yard but I had difficulty believing the size.........after seeing this I was a believer.

The only way we could figure the skin got there was that a kookaburra lifted it up there. Surely the snake couldnt have gotten up there.

Mate, maaaaaaaate. Do you mean a 3 metre Python can't climb? Because crikey mate, trust me. They can!!! I live on a massive park and when I hear the Noisy Minors, Magpies and Butcher birds going mental in a tree it's because there is a Python up there. It happens dozens of times a year. Carpet snakes love the rats in your roof, and naturally would love to eat eggs and chicks of birds nesting. Trust me, some snakes can climb

 

[n3ophy7e]

The only one that really scares me is the taipan because its a venomous motherfucker and not real friendly.

Yep, Taipans are aggressive motherfuckers!!

My brother, yeah the one that drinks a lot, his dog is what appears to be a jack russell, terrier border collie sort of heinz variety and it has apparently managed to catch 2 browns that wandered in from next door. Both were only small for browns, maybe 3-4 feet but I expect that there must have been some mums and dads around much bigger.

It killed them both. I find it amazing that they seem to know how to deal with them without being killed or bitten themselves or maybe they have some sort of immunity??

Nope, they're toxic to dogs and cats as well. Actually, probably MORE toxic because the neurotoxin component of the brown snake venom seems to have more of an effect on dogs and cats than it does in humans (whereas the coagulant part of the venom mainly affects humans).

So I guess they manage to kill them with pure speed and instinct.

 

[MazDan]

Cheers Neo, thats interesting.

Also cheers Klue cos I knew they could swim but didnt think such a big snake could climb.

See you learn something everyday.




On the subject of nasties, I pulled quite a large paralysis tick out of my border collie this morning.

He wasnt showing any signs, I just happenned on it while giving him a hug.

Bloody thing was almost a cm long and was well fed.

I dont think we have them in our area normally so i suspect it arrived via my brothers dog after his trip to the South Coast where I know they are prevalent.

 

[Klue]

^ Was he okay? Did he need to go to the vet?


Probably lots of snakes can climb. Taipans only feed on Marsupials, there are a lot of climbing Marsupials. I'd think a big Python would feed on Marsupials and birds at night too!

Maybe the Brush Tail Possum problem in NZ could be solved with the introduction of a few big snakes :D

 

[MazDan]

Yeah he was fine mate. Well thus far. I did speak to the vet and she ageed that there was probably no need to worry to much until some signs are evident..........he seems perfectly normal.

I didnt know brushtails were a problem in NZ.