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AADD Moderators: Tronica
Snakes in Australia
- Thread starter Klue
- Start date
lostpunk5545
Bluelighter
Yeah I like that Casuarinas and Eucalypts are weeds in America. Nice to see our plants kicking arse when I have to spend all day battling exotics.
MazDan
Bluelight Crew
Is the brushtail not a native to NZ then?
In that case yeah lets send them some harmless dfiamomnd pythons...but we only send male ones so that they never get out of hand.
In that case yeah lets send them some harmless dfiamomnd pythons...but we only send male ones so that they never get out of hand.
The Narrator
Bluelighter
Ticks on dogs would worry more then snakes attacking my dogs if I was in an area where they were common. Snakes aren't too much to worry about when it comes down to it
Great thread 
My snake story is from when I was at high school.
We lived in a high set house with the laundry downstairs, one morning mum was doing the washing around 5:30am in the morning and it took her 15mins to realize there was a 1.6m carpet python draped across the washing machine.
Anyway she got all us kids to come down and see it and we watched it climb up and disappear into the ceiling under the bathroom. So we assumed it would be warmed up each night when we would all make our way through the shower/bath.
It stuck around for about a year and we saw it quite a few times, never had troubles with our cats or dog and also cleaned up all the rats and mice we had. Then one day we found it crossing our back lawn and climb up tree never to be seen again.
My snake story is from when I was at high school.
We lived in a high set house with the laundry downstairs, one morning mum was doing the washing around 5:30am in the morning and it took her 15mins to realize there was a 1.6m carpet python draped across the washing machine.
Anyway she got all us kids to come down and see it and we watched it climb up and disappear into the ceiling under the bathroom. So we assumed it would be warmed up each night when we would all make our way through the shower/bath.
It stuck around for about a year and we saw it quite a few times, never had troubles with our cats or dog and also cleaned up all the rats and mice we had. Then one day we found it crossing our back lawn and climb up tree never to be seen again.
I have three snake stories that will stay with me always.
First was when I was about 14 or 15 my friends and I where walking up this grassy hill out near Avalon beach. I was a few meters up the hill ahead of my buddies and I turned to yell out at them. As I was doing so I heard a slight russelling sound and a movement across my foot.
I looked down and saw a black coloured snake moving across the top of my foot. In a split second my natural reaction was to kick my leg forward. Natural physics obviously meant that this snake launched in the air and the next thing I know is that a Red Belly Black Snake is flying through the air towards my three friends a few meters down the hill from me.
As you could imagine they all dove/ran in whatever direction they could to get away from this airborne snake. Luckily that was the height of the excitement but that was one of those experiences where luck was on my side as that situation could have turned out a lot different.
Second time was a corporate golf day. I hit a ball of the fairway and into the bush. I had a good idea where the ball went and I managed to track it. I seen the ball amongst some long grass with dried leaves and sticks everywhere. I reached in to grab the ball and heard THAT sounds; SSSSZZZZZZZZZZSSSSS.........
I look up and there is the brownest fucking snake I had ever seen. I moved back fast and this thing lunged. I don't know where its head landed after that lunch but I moved like the wind and threw myself onto the fairway with no concern for my own well being. I rolled across the grass like freakin ninja and I never saw that snake again.
The last story was much more pleasant. I was hiking through some thick forest near the hunter valley and I had spent the last 30 minutes scaling a mountain. I got near the top and took a seat on the edge of a cliff face. As I sat there I was tracking the trunk of a huge tree that grew up and along the cliff face. Finally my eye got a branch the came off the trunk line, I followed that along and then settled just in front of my face where less than 2 meters away was the head of the fattest and greenest python I have ever seen.
This thing was the size of a dinosaur and I can only assume it was as old as one because it looked me dead in the eye and I swear it thought "well if you leave me alone then I agree not to lunge forward at your face and fuck you up". After that it just shut its eyes again and just continued to bake in the only beam of hot sun cutting its way through the thick canopy. One of my all time great memories.
First was when I was about 14 or 15 my friends and I where walking up this grassy hill out near Avalon beach. I was a few meters up the hill ahead of my buddies and I turned to yell out at them. As I was doing so I heard a slight russelling sound and a movement across my foot.
I looked down and saw a black coloured snake moving across the top of my foot. In a split second my natural reaction was to kick my leg forward. Natural physics obviously meant that this snake launched in the air and the next thing I know is that a Red Belly Black Snake is flying through the air towards my three friends a few meters down the hill from me.
As you could imagine they all dove/ran in whatever direction they could to get away from this airborne snake. Luckily that was the height of the excitement but that was one of those experiences where luck was on my side as that situation could have turned out a lot different.
Second time was a corporate golf day. I hit a ball of the fairway and into the bush. I had a good idea where the ball went and I managed to track it. I seen the ball amongst some long grass with dried leaves and sticks everywhere. I reached in to grab the ball and heard THAT sounds; SSSSZZZZZZZZZZSSSSS.........
I look up and there is the brownest fucking snake I had ever seen. I moved back fast and this thing lunged. I don't know where its head landed after that lunch but I moved like the wind and threw myself onto the fairway with no concern for my own well being. I rolled across the grass like freakin ninja and I never saw that snake again.
The last story was much more pleasant. I was hiking through some thick forest near the hunter valley and I had spent the last 30 minutes scaling a mountain. I got near the top and took a seat on the edge of a cliff face. As I sat there I was tracking the trunk of a huge tree that grew up and along the cliff face. Finally my eye got a branch the came off the trunk line, I followed that along and then settled just in front of my face where less than 2 meters away was the head of the fattest and greenest python I have ever seen.
This thing was the size of a dinosaur and I can only assume it was as old as one because it looked me dead in the eye and I swear it thought "well if you leave me alone then I agree not to lunge forward at your face and fuck you up". After that it just shut its eyes again and just continued to bake in the only beam of hot sun cutting its way through the thick canopy. One of my all time great memories.
MazDan
Bluelight Crew
^^^^^^^^ Wow, magic stories.............lol I actually pictured in my head what was about to happen with that snake on your foot before you even wrote it and I was pissing myself laughing at what was about to happen.
That would be a great scene in a movie.
That would be a great scene in a movie.
eggman, that green tree python encounter would've been absolutely magical!!! 
Grossss!! I fucking hate ticks!!!
Once after a bush doof up north of Sydney, I was relaxing in the backyard with my hands behind my head, and I felt not 1 but 3 ticks buried in amongst my hair!!!! Ewww ewwwwww!!
I spent the rest of the day, still tripping, panicking about my dog and whether or not I'd transferred any to him, watching him like a HAWK in case he displayed any signs. And no-one else got any either, I felt so dirty!!
I think they were just little bush ticks though, not the paralysis ticks. Keep in mind there are some species of tick that look similar to the paralysis tick, that don't actually have the paralysis venom. But always, to be safe, keep a very close eye on a dog or cat that has a tick(s)...
Maz, that is a worry if your doggy got a tick out where you live. But yes it was probably from your brother's dog though. Although I have heard of ticks being found in scrubby areas as inland as Balmain etc. I can't see any reason why they wouldn't be further inland along rivers in western Sydney???
Whoa, cool story Amblin!
Grossss!! I fucking hate ticks!!!
Once after a bush doof up north of Sydney, I was relaxing in the backyard with my hands behind my head, and I felt not 1 but 3 ticks buried in amongst my hair!!!! Ewww ewwwwww!!
I spent the rest of the day, still tripping, panicking about my dog and whether or not I'd transferred any to him, watching him like a HAWK in case he displayed any signs. And no-one else got any either, I felt so dirty!!
I think they were just little bush ticks though, not the paralysis ticks. Keep in mind there are some species of tick that look similar to the paralysis tick, that don't actually have the paralysis venom. But always, to be safe, keep a very close eye on a dog or cat that has a tick(s)...
Maz, that is a worry if your doggy got a tick out where you live. But yes it was probably from your brother's dog though. Although I have heard of ticks being found in scrubby areas as inland as Balmain etc. I can't see any reason why they wouldn't be further inland along rivers in western Sydney???
Whoa, cool story Amblin!
lostpunk5545
Bluelighter
Bush ticks and paralysis ticks are the same thing - different life stages. They're all Ixodes holocyclus. Although there are a bunch of different ticks around Australia this is the most common and the one you'll probably get anywhere on the east coast. The reason you never see the huge ones on people is because they are engorged mature females that have been feeding for 10+ days. Even if you don't realise you have had a tick you would feel it and scratch it out way before even a day or two has passed - animals aren't this lucky lacking our digits.
I get upwards of a 100 ticks a year in my job. I fucking loathe them.
http://medent.usyd.edu.au/photos/tick_photos.htm
I get upwards of a 100 ticks a year in my job. I fucking loathe them.
http://medent.usyd.edu.au/photos/tick_photos.htm
lostpunk5545
Bluelighter
No I can't remember shit about anything. I think it was also mentioned in a Uni lecture recently. I'll look on ebay for a copy now. If it arrives in the mail I will read it I'll just not remember to buy it otherwise. Looks good!
MazDan
Bluelight Crew
Punk, you mentioned that it is big because it had been eating for 10 plus days............. The info i found suggested 24 hours which is why I decided my brothers dog was to blame.
I had been down the coast about 12 days earlier............from what your saying it must have been my visit.
Are you sure they take so long to get big?
I will try and find the 24 hour reference.
I had been down the coast about 12 days earlier............from what your saying it must have been my visit.
Are you sure they take so long to get big?
I will try and find the 24 hour reference.
lostpunk5545
Bluelighter
I was just running off the top of my head but close enough. I'll try find a simple summation of the whole thing.
This source quotes ten days:
As a person I much prefer getting adult ticks. They're easy to find and remove and you usually only get one or two. When the larvae are about it's not uncommon to get hit by 60 or so at once. If you've ever been bitten by a tick, it fucking itches and takes a month or more to heal. Try dealing with a hundred bites and trying to sleep in the heat of summer (which is when the larvae are about). It fucking sucks. Majorly.
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MazDan
Bluelight Crew
LP your a champion and yours makes much more sense than mine which i found by the way..........
from http://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/tick2.htm
however I suspect what I read was a generic thing and it does say often more than so I guess they cover themselves there....lol, sort of.
Anyways yours explains much better and I thank you.
Mate Im guessing you are spending a fair bit of time in bushland near the coast?
Is there something you can do to try and stop them?? Maybe baby oil on skin or aerogard or something?
Also are you aware if its possible for a dog to build an immunity?
Finally which do you think is worse.......... the stuff you use to stop ticks and fleas such as frontline plus or the odd tick? ( I didnt include fleas because they truly are a damn annoyance but currently I dont have any fleas on my dogs and havent had for years so i stopped putting the stuff on them about six months ago.)
from http://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/tick2.htm
however I suspect what I read was a generic thing and it does say often more than so I guess they cover themselves there....lol, sort of.
Anyways yours explains much better and I thank you.
Mate Im guessing you are spending a fair bit of time in bushland near the coast?
Is there something you can do to try and stop them?? Maybe baby oil on skin or aerogard or something?
Also are you aware if its possible for a dog to build an immunity?
Finally which do you think is worse.......... the stuff you use to stop ticks and fleas such as frontline plus or the odd tick? ( I didnt include fleas because they truly are a damn annoyance but currently I dont have any fleas on my dogs and havent had for years so i stopped putting the stuff on them about six months ago.)
MazDan
Bluelight Crew
Interestingly found my own answer to one question.............
By the way LP, I also came across this which is what i understood also...ie that there were two distinct types...but lol, Im happy to be corrected again bro.
both from here......... http://www.lovemypet.com.au/tickfaq.htm#6 immunity
By the way LP, I also came across this which is what i understood also...ie that there were two distinct types...but lol, Im happy to be corrected again bro.
both from here......... http://www.lovemypet.com.au/tickfaq.htm#6 immunity
lostpunk5545
Bluelighter
There's something like 75 species of ticks in Australia. But when most people refer to grass ticks, bush ticks, etc. they are unknowingly usually referring to different life stages of the paralysis tick. It's the most common one and the one you're most likely to get (on the East Coast anyways).
This is totally anecdotal, but as far as I've heard in humans the poison in tick bites is cumulative, or some aspect of it is, and you get worse reactions the more frequently you get bitten. To colleagues and myself this seems to be the case. But then again it's also just possible every now and then I'm just sloppy in pulling one out cleanly and this is why I get bad reactions on occasion.
Oh and citronella and natural based insect repellents are useless but Deet products (aerogrard, Rid etc.) are somewhat effective. I've read this in a paper so it's not just my thoughts - there's evidence to back it up. However, they're so small and crawly it's impossible to completely protect yourself against them.
Heaps sorry to derail your thread Klue
Oh and so as not to confuse you there is a tick with the common name 'bush tick' but it's also what most people call the mid sized paralysis tick.
This is totally anecdotal, but as far as I've heard in humans the poison in tick bites is cumulative, or some aspect of it is, and you get worse reactions the more frequently you get bitten. To colleagues and myself this seems to be the case. But then again it's also just possible every now and then I'm just sloppy in pulling one out cleanly and this is why I get bad reactions on occasion.
Oh and citronella and natural based insect repellents are useless but Deet products (aerogrard, Rid etc.) are somewhat effective. I've read this in a paper so it's not just my thoughts - there's evidence to back it up. However, they're so small and crawly it's impossible to completely protect yourself against them.
Heaps sorry to derail your thread Klue
Oh and so as not to confuse you there is a tick with the common name 'bush tick' but it's also what most people call the mid sized paralysis tick.
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MazDan
Bluelight Crew
You truly are a freak for info mate...I reckon you should look at becoming the next croc hunter dude.
Actually between you and Klue, it would be a great show.
Actually between you and Klue, it would be a great show.
lol @ eggman story! Flying black snake woo hoo! I love it.
The stories about the dogs are cool too! I never knew they could do such a thing.
My stories:
* Driving in WA, with work mates, we came across a brown snake in the road. Stopped to look. The Pom with us wanted to get out and look at it LOL. We peeled away when it hissed and charged the car We came across a thorny devil later than same day, which the Pom was terrified of.
* Red Belly crawled out from the plumbing at wife's parent's farm while they were building their new house hahaha.
* Neighbour was taking shots with a meat cleaver at a beautiful diamond python a few years ago. I yelled at him to stop. The snake was terrified, and clinging to the trampoline leg. I pulled it off -- it wasn't the least bit hostile -- and brought it to a WIRES friend. Poor thing.
* We found a brown snake skin in our back yard a few years ago. That scared us for a while. Finally decided it was simply working it's way up and down the drainage ditch chasing frogs, and/or eating the mice living by the rabbit and guinea pigs hutch.
* Baby brown snake greeted us when we were about to step into our villa in Broome :/
* Baby Cobra was in our front yard in Malaysia :/
* The coolest of them all, though, had to be in Fiji. My daughter and I were walking through the shallows, and a striped sea snake was shyly watching us from behind some cover. I told her she's looking at the most poisionous snake in the world, then she tried to hide behind me It was a beautiful creature even though it was only black and white. So shy, too.
I reckon snakes are pretty cool critters. I don't get to see them very often, and I appreciate that with the exception of the Taipan and the Adder they're in general pretty harmless creatures as long as you don't accidentally corner them, or are just plain unlucky. I wouldn't hestiate to kill one (or any animal for that point) that was posing an immediate danger to myself or others, but simply getting out of their way is clearly the way to go. I can't stand hearing of people that automatically kill all snakes, with no appreciation of the impact they're having on the ecosystem or the moral implications of taking life so haphazardly.
QFT.
The stories about the dogs are cool too! I never knew they could do such a thing.
My stories:
* Driving in WA, with work mates, we came across a brown snake in the road. Stopped to look. The Pom with us wanted to get out and look at it LOL. We peeled away when it hissed and charged the car
We came across a thorny devil later than same day, which the Pom was terrified of.* Red Belly crawled out from the plumbing at wife's parent's farm while they were building their new house hahaha.
* Neighbour was taking shots with a meat cleaver at a beautiful diamond python a few years ago. I yelled at him to stop. The snake was terrified, and clinging to the trampoline leg. I pulled it off -- it wasn't the least bit hostile -- and brought it to a WIRES friend. Poor thing.
* We found a brown snake skin in our back yard a few years ago. That scared us for a while. Finally decided it was simply working it's way up and down the drainage ditch chasing frogs, and/or eating the mice living by the rabbit and guinea pigs hutch.
* Baby brown snake greeted us when we were about to step into our villa in Broome :/
* Baby Cobra was in our front yard in Malaysia :/
* The coolest of them all, though, had to be in Fiji. My daughter and I were walking through the shallows, and a striped sea snake was shyly watching us from behind some cover. I told her she's looking at the most poisionous snake in the world, then she tried to hide behind me
It was a beautiful creature even though it was only black and white. So shy, too.I reckon snakes are pretty cool critters. I don't get to see them very often, and I appreciate that with the exception of the Taipan and the Adder they're in general pretty harmless creatures as long as you don't accidentally corner them, or are just plain unlucky. I wouldn't hestiate to kill one (or any animal for that point) that was posing an immediate danger to myself or others, but simply getting out of their way is clearly the way to go. I can't stand hearing of people that automatically kill all snakes, with no appreciation of the impact they're having on the ecosystem or the moral implications of taking life so haphazardly.
QFT.
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