Well the winter snap has finally hit and with it a marked reduction in snake sightings around Brisbane. While snakes are still moving around they are being very selective with when – highlighted by periods of the office phone ringing off the hook and periods with limited action! The month of May has seen the […]
Most people are aware that many snakes have fangs which are involved in the delivery of venom. What is not well understood is how snake fangs actually work. This post is “fangs 101” providing a basic description of the different fang types and how they work. Firstly to warrant having fangs it makes sense to […]
With snakes beginning to move around due to the increased temperatures many people ask me questions regarding snake hibernation and are astonished when I explain that snakes don’t actually hibernate. Hibernation refers to the way warm-blooded animals over-winter by slowing their physiological processes, entering an unconscious state and burning fat reserves to maintain organs and […]
Being limbless offers snakes a number of advantages but ease of feeding is not one of them! A snakes body plan just doesn’t equip them with the necessary tools to effectively tear prey items into manageable sized pieces. They are however amazingly adapted for the consumption of whole, large prey items that basic physics should […]
Snake Sizes Strike up a conversation about snakes with any bloke at a rural Queensland pub and more than likely you will be regaled with horror stories of 6mtr Taipans and 8mtr King Browns! Claims like these fall squarely in the category of ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn’, […]
At the mention of snakes many people envision a mindless killing machine hell bent on biting them for the mere sake of it! This couldn’t be further from the truth. Snakes are incredibly secretive animals that avoid humans at all costs and will only bite when they are threatened and feel they have no other […]
One of the most frequent questions I receive as a snake catcher is “is this snake poisonous”. Well, in Australia at least, the answer is always NO.. Australia has a large number of venomous snakes (140 including seasnakes actually) but a total of 0 poisonous ones. It does however have poisonous animals, the cane toad […]
Eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis) venom toxicity is the second highest of any land snake in the world. This snake also happens to be one of the most common large venomous snakes encountered in the greater Brisbane area and caught regularly by snake catchers. This snake has always had my respect as a quick, pugnacious […]
This is a question that everyone asks… I wish I could give you a simple answer that would allow a complete snake novice to instantly recognize the danger or lack thereof for a particular snake. But sadly the only way to know if a snake is venomous or not is to be interested in snakes […]
