Snake sightings, encounters and reminders.

[Calico]

Heres my last 2 chooks on the left and our Guinea pig on the right! We get scrub pythons and carpets non stop eating everything, the biggest I’ve relocated was 3.1 m. Also saw my first taipan not long ago I was mowing the fence line and it was around 2 m away. I sat there with the mower on full noise it did not flinch it was me who left first! They have serious attitude.

 

[uttu kaos]

being a catcher i get up nice and close to them, its amazing how fast a black snake takes to calm down, hes just not interested in people so will do all it takes to not have anything to do with you..being predominantly frog eaters they mostly hang around dams, rivers and creeks,,what you will have is a dominant female usaually around the 6.5 to 7ft long and about 3" round and they have a certain area that is "theirs" and you will have males moving in and out looking after and servicing her, a harem if you will....the part you have to watch out for is when they flatten their neck (related to cobra) thats when they are letting you know they arent happy and they are sizing you up for a bite..if you are in biting distance just stand still, they will take that as no threat and they cant see you as they detect movement..their eyesight really isnt very good untill you move..Once i sat down and opened my catch bag in my lap and released 2 red bellies to show thay arent interested in us, it was stupid but i proved to myself and to others about how well just being still works..any way , above are some good instructions if you are bitten, please carry bandages with you when you are out there, dont wash the bite area at all just bandage and keep calm..if you have any questions just give me a yell and ill try and answer them..be safe out there..Dave..

 

[Pro-oz]

Alone in the bush, if bitten. I carry a bandage, so what to do? Bandage, set off PLB and sit and wait and hope help arrives, or go for the car?

 

[uttu kaos]

Alone in the bush, if bitten. I carry a bandage, so what to do? Bandage, set off PLB and sit and wait and hope help arrives, or go for the car?

It really depends on where you are.. If the car is close and its flat ground to get to it id go to the car, just bandage first, otherwise hit the plb and wait, if you have bandaged it right you have a while before you need to worry..

 

[trev111]

Last year I was detecting in the Adelaide Hills by myself when I ran into a big Brown Snake basking in the sun. I just left him to himself and walked around him. About 10 seconds later, I trod on a stick which sprung up and "bit" me on the calf. ****, did I jump and looked for the "snake". Did that get me looking everywhere for snakes. As far as I am concerned, I was bitten by aa "Stick Snake"

 

[jonaich]

A nice young Dugite at the back of Coolgardie this afternoon. Quite a few cattle about as well.

 

[Dihusky]

Gotta be alert, we were digging in Kookabookra during Minerama a few weeks ago and one shovel came up with a baby Taipan curled up in the dirt, no time for the camera unfortunately, but very pretty and just as deadly as an adult, ya gotta watch out all the time, and yes the snake kit was in the backpack.

 

[Hilux]

Spotted in the NE wheat belt in WA. About 50cm long and a bit fatter than a pencil, it was sleeping under some sheet metal.


What kind of snake is it?

 

[grubstake]

Spotted in the NE wheat belt in WA. About 50cm long and a bit fatter than a pencil, it was sleeping under some sheet metal.
What kind of snake is it?

Possibly a dugite or a gwardar, but given the evenness of its colouring, with no obvious darker spots or patches, it looks more like a very small mulga snake (aka. king brown). I'm just going by what I can see and read in reference books, so don't take this as gospel if you get bitten!

 

[Hilux]

Possibly a dugite or a gwardar, but given the evenness of its colouring, with no obvious darker spots or patches, it looks more like a very small mulga snake (aka. king brown). I'm just going by what I can see and read in reference books, so don't this as gospel if you get bitten!

I'm starting to think I should carry my snake bite kit when bush detecting.

I always wear heavy boots, thick socks and trousers and am reasonably careful but you never know what might happen.

 

[Grey Panner]

A nice young Dugite at the back of Coolgardie this afternoon. Quite a few cattle about as well.

Some years ago, when fossicking with a tag-along party near Marble Bar, one member of the group spotted what looked like a speckled circular patch of lichen on a flat rock and was reaching out to touch it when I noticed that the "lichen" had a shrivelled up little tail. Following round from the tail I then saw that, in the centre of the circle, the "lichen" had a head. It was a small death adder, no thicker than a pencil all coiled up and was either basking in the sun or waiting for a bird to peck at its worm-like tail. I called a warning and the curious person leapt back. We touched the snake gently
with a long, long stick and it sprang into life and disappeared in a flash.
I had no idea that death adders could be so agile although I knew they can strike like lightning.
It reinforced my belief that you mustn't put your fingers anywhere that you can't see what you are touching.

 

[uttu kaos]

By the looks of the pic if i was on the East Coast i would say Eastern brown but over there it looks very much like a Dugite..

Spotted in the NE wheat belt in WA. About 50cm long and a bit fatter than a pencil, it was sleeping under some sheet metal.


What kind of snake is it?


View attachment 9107

 

[uttu kaos]

I'm starting to think I should carry my snake bite kit when bush detecting.

I always wear heavy boots, thick socks and trousers and am reasonably careful but you never know what might happen.

mate we should ALL be carrying one..its not heavy and it only needs to be a couple of bandages and thats it..Apart from that a PLB is a bloody great idea as well...

 

[uttu kaos]

Some years ago, when fossicking with a tag-along party near Marble Bar, one member of the group spotted what looked like a speckled circular patch of lichen on a flat rock and was reaching out to touch it when I noticed that the "lichen" had a shrivelled up little tail. Following round from the tail I then saw that, in the centre of the circle, the "lichen" had a head. It was a small death adder, no thicker than a pencil all coiled up and was either basking in the sun or waiting for a bird to peck at its worm-like tail. I called a warning and the curious person leapt back. We touched the snake gently
with a long, long stick and it sprang into life and disappeared in a flash.
I had no idea that death adders could be so agile although I knew they can strike like lightning.
It reinforced my belief that you mustn't put your fingers anywhere that you can't see what you are touching.

mate they are like little coiled springs, they rely on their hit and wait way of eating..they hit the prey and then wait and track the food source to find where it died after a little wait..beautiful little snakes..

 

[uttu kaos]

A nice young Dugite at the back of Coolgardie this afternoon. Quite a few cattle about as well.

im pretty sure what you have there is a gwardar snake mate..

 

[uttu kaos]

a couple of captures..

 

[grubstake]

a couple of captures..

What's happening in that last pic? Is it snake on snake action, or has something else been caught?

 

[Pro-oz]

What's happening in that last pic? Is it snake on snake action, or has something else been caught?

One snake with a frog?

 

[Grey Panner]

mate they are like little coiled springs, they rely on their hit and wait way of eating..they hit the prey and then wait and track the food source to find where it died after a little wait..beautiful little snakes..

Coiled springs is a great description. Instantaneous action. Awe inspiring.

 

[David-Karratha]

Some images I used in a different post. There is much talk about identify snakes just by looking at them. By way of example, attached are photos taken from the Snakes of the Pilbara publication, showing the variations in colour of a single snake type, the Gwardar or Western Brown Snake.