??? I thought we had them all over here.
They take nice pics if you get them to arc up a bit.

buckles said..

95% of snakebites occur because people didn't use the correct end of the shovel. I wish all the snakes here were harmless varieties like QLD has. I quickly get tired of all the bloody tiger snakes here.

Ahem. We got plenty of the deadlies here. Death Adder, Tiger, Brown, Tiapan, just to name a few.

pweedas said..
They take nice pics if you get them to arc up a bit.

Those are fantasic pictures!!!

Macroscien said...
or prepare some cutting tool on long stick.

Otherwise known as a garden hoe. They are highly effective.

snakes are more scared of you, than you are scared of them! treat them with respect, they are part of the australian "ecosystem"

learn to live with them rather than have a hissy fit......just sayin!

Whew! We just had a gang of those long skinny olive ones slithering around the doors this arvo. I haven't seen them before. We get the occasional python and they can be impressive but these little guys are quick. I'm in Brisbane western suburbs too.

I hope they are tree snakes but I suppose they could be Brown snakes. I'm not going to get close enough to find out.

They are all protected I understand so you shouldn't be killing them.

coming from a family with deep roots in the bush I can say that the idea is to either shoot them or chop them up with a shovel. then burry them because they can still administer a deathly bite if you stand on them when they are dead.

now that theory is based on the fact that to get to a hospital in a regional area is difficult at best. a snake bite is a death sentence. watching a stockman take out a brown or black snack with a whip from the back of a horse is a sight to be hold.

the other thing you will see in rural areas is a well maintained lawn around the house, no long grass. snakes are going to be around piles of wood and chicken coops and in long grass. so that's where you be more careful. when walking through long grass make noise to convince them to move on.

mow your grass. clean up your gardens etc. then you can see them. oh yeah, get rid of any vermin in and around your house. snakes will come into your house chasing a meal of them.

me personally, i'd remove any snake I come across because of my kids. depending on how aggressive it is and where it is depends on whether I call the snake catcher or grab the shovel.

brown snakes usually hang out in pairs.

Gestalt said..
I was pretty surprised to read in the qld wildlife book linked on page 1 that swamp tigers are considered harmless.

certainly weren't when I was growing up.

I don't know where these books and web sites get their information from.
I should send over a tiger snake for them to play with for a while and then they could revise their writings, if they live that long.

Tiger snakes are one of the most poisonous snakes in Australia and they are made worse by the fact that they do not try to run away when you approach, no matter how much noise you make. They just sit there waiting.
That doesn't mean they will certainly bite you if you put your foot close to them, but they will if they feel like it.
At the start of season, they generally feel like it. (august, sept, and maybe october)
At the end of season they generally don't. (march, april)
They rarely strike higher than gum boots high so you're pretty safe grubbing through tall grass in gum boots and jeans.
The problem is, gum boots and jeans are really uncomfortable in summer so it's more often shorts and joggers.

They are supposed to be a protected species. I have no idea why they should be.
They are everywhere and breed like rabbits.
Tiger snakes are born live, and lethal from birth and the normal number is around 12 to 24. (Yes, I count them.)
There are probably hundreds of them around the paddocks here and there is only one of me.
If I killed every one I saw it would make no difference at all, in the same way that it makes no difference if I killed every rabbit I saw.
There are too many of them and the breeding rate far exceeds the kill rate I am capable of, unless I made it my sole occupation.
Any which cross my path around the house are relocated with a spade to the afterlife.
Don't tackle them with a spade when they are propped up and ready to take you on.
On a warm day they are very quick and you will probably end up with both you and the snake dancing around on the same patch of ground.
The odds will then be in the snakes favour.
Stand still a short distance off and wait for it to slither off.
Don't take your eyes off it for even one second because they somehow become invisible and disappear.
Then aim one short chop about 10 to 15 inches behind the head.
Don't aim too close to the head because they can move it so fast you will almost always miss it. And then they get angry again.
Don't try and cut it right through. There is no need and it's better if you don't.
So long as it's spine is broken they are very much restricted in what they can do.
Stay cool and calculating. Don't go into a wild slashing frenzy because your odds of coming out on the wrong side of the equation increase drastically.
Wait for it to simmer down a bit.
You can then give it a wack on the head to finish it off.

It is still lethal after death so don't start using it as a whip or anything silly.
People have died after being hit by a snakes head while using them as whips. (true)
Cut it's head off and bury it.

For me, all this applies only to tiger snakes.
They are easy to identify and we are not short of them.
Anything else is free to carry on doing whatever snakes do.
If we had taipans or death adders here I would probably extend it to those, but we don't.
If you do then it's your decision.

{edit} very important. Always have a clear retreat path. They can throw themselves about 6 feet when amped up on a hot day.

ah I see the swamp tiger is the keelback. yeah seen many of those growing up but didn't know they weren't venomous. just called them all tigers.

saw a few of the eastern tigers also. that one seemed to cause the most deaths. kids jumping into dams and landing on nests and getting nailed.

saw a lot of black snakes and browns at school. everyone was in fear of those 2.

the snake most likely around the house was the green tree snake. of course they were brown but go figure. my brother wound one up once inside the house and it went mental. I've never seen him freak out like he did that day. it took the snake a while to figure out how to get traction on the tiles but when it did it went him because he had made it so angry.

eastern tiger = spade

Beaglebuddy said..

It's the kind you whack with a stick, or whatever you have. In California we had rattlers, now in Hawaii we don't have any snakes whatsoever

except for the ones in the lineup

I think your best bet would be to let it bite you. If you live its not dangerous, if you die, it is.
Please post your out come.

WA71 said..

GypsyDrifter said..
^^^ not too sure if that's good camouflage ? (being black with white stripes)

He sticks out like ...yer he just stick out

I have seen lots of sea snakes this colour

Could it be a























































Trouser snake

Too many eyes

Macro, I would be pretty sure that is a harmless green tree snake. (they are often brown)

The others are as mentioned are a Bandi Bandi and Carpet Snake and also are relatively harmless.

Do a google search for Brown Snake so you know what they look like... They are thicker and have a much more bullet like, rounded head. Pythons generally have an angular "arrow head" shape with a skinny neck behind.

Brown tree snake:

Brown Snake:

Please don't kill any snakes. If you think one is poisonous and is hanging around or is in your house call someone on here to remove it...http://www.wildlifeqld.com.au/Snake_catcher_directory.html

Otherwise leave it alone - most likely it will be gone before you know it.