id believe it, a lot of snakes can swim.

tigers swim no problems at all. they live in swamps after all.

growing up i was chased by a couple in local rivers.

they are pretty quick through the water also.

redbelly's are angry criters but will leave you alone more than not.
they are frickin massive snakes and very scary just on size. i remember a 6 foot red belly at school growing up.


tigers are territorial to a point and like to let you know that. growing up a couple of local kids didn't make it into their teens after discovering tiger snake nests in dams.

always check would be my advice.


then there's the brown snakes.... angry mofo also. like to chase you as well.

Krisiz1 said...

Two guys in the last week have told me they have seen Tiger snakes SWIMMING in the Australind estuary while they have been scooping for crabs (the guys, not the snakes) Both in shallow water, one was near the shore, the other about 500 mtrs out on a shallow sandbar. I occasionally come across a dugite at work when I'm wearing jeans and workboots, but meeting a Tiger snake when you're only wearing boardies and a rashie and you are crotch deep in water

Funny I should read about this today. Went for a paddle on the estuary this morning and as I live about 100m from the water, I trolley my ski down there. So that no one can pinch my trolley I lock it to a star picket in amongst the reeds on the bank and hence have to walk through them to get there. Ignorantly I was thinking (as I stand there in bare feet) - surely there wouldn't be any snakes amongst this tall grass and reeds. Then went home to read in the West that a fella had died yesterday from a snake bite just north of Perth.

Hence my issue is, do I leave my trolley unlocked on the sand and risk a thief?

Krisiz, didnt see you out sailing the other day - had it all to myself.

i lived on a lagoon as a child and did lots of sailing and so on. during a hot summer, you'd usually see snakes in the water, sometimes, a long way from shore.

our next door neighbor had a houseboat he'd start up every spring and it was kind of a ritual for the kids to come down and see it. It was parked nose first on the foreshore of the lagoon. this particular year the houseboat started up, and suddenly the water was filled with little tiger snakes, who had obviously nested nearby. i couldn't believe the size of this brood. i couldn't run fast enough...momma was sure to be nearby!



swimming snakes is one thing, check this out...



awww hell no!

Gestalt said...
the tip to avoid snake bites when walking in bush is to make a lot of noise by stamping your feet as you walk or just walking heavily.

most times the snake will move on when they feel the vibrations. it all depends on the time of year and how energetic the snakes are also.

That works with dugites pretty well. As soon as they hear you coming they hiss off as fast as their lack of legs can carry them.
And they only ever strike if you step on them, otherwise they seem really polite.

But it doesn't seem to work with tiger snakes.
It just alerts the little sods that you're coming so they can be ready for you.
My experience has always been that they lie dead still until you get very close and then they prop up and have a go at you.
Little buggers!



Eventually, after they size you up and realise that they will never be able to stuff something that big in their gob they hiss off.



The one that killed a guy a few days ago was only a foot long, which would make it only a month or two old.
They are born live and lethal from birth. Usually about 10 to 30 per brood.
At that age they are about as thick as a pencil and can squeeze through the narrow crack under the door to get inside.
The last guy was bitten on the toe while in his house.
If you rile them up it's like chasing a rubber band bouncing around the floor.
And yes, i've riled up a few.

Came across the biggest brown/tiger? last year when slashing the bottom paddock. We have a pretty steeply terraced terrain and there was a big rabbit hole coming out from a particularly steep section. I was on a quadbike towing a slasher and was standing up looking down through the long grass so that the wheels didn't fall into the hole. Came face to face with the snake that had obviously decided to live in that hole. It didn't seem too bothered by the fact that I was on a quadbike with a 10hp slasher running on the back. I figured that I would leave him there as at least I knew where he was. If they come hanging around the house I usually relocate them to the walking track about 500 metres away.
Not seen any swimming in lake Connewarre. Do they hang about in salt water estuary's? We have got Reedy lake about 1km away which is fresh water and must rate as the snake capital of Australia.

Fark Im glad I live in Sydney, apart from the usual sharks, spiders etc we only have dickhead jet skiers, P plate hoons and old ladies with trolleys. Thats scary!!!

So whats worse, sailing around a tiger snake or sailing around a tiger shark???

sboardcrazy said...

whyner said...

So whats worse, sailing around a tiger snake or sailing around a tiger shark???

definitely shark..
Theyre bigger & can swim faster!

sboardcrazy said...

whyner said...

So whats worse, sailing around a tiger snake or sailing around a tiger shark???

definitely shark..

Nah! Sharks don't get caught on ya fin. I'll take the shark just so I have to use one of those damn weed fins

Gestalt said...

shi thouse said...

Krisiz1 said...

Two guys in the last week have told me they have seen Tiger snakes SWIMMING in the Australind estuary while they have been scooping for crabs (the guys, not the snakes) Both in shallow water, one was near the shore, the other about 500 mtrs out on a shallow sandbar. I occasionally come across a dugite at work when I'm wearing jeans and workboots, but meeting a Tiger snake when you're only wearing boardies and a rashie and you are crotch deep in water

Funny I should read about this today. Went for a paddle on the estuary this morning and as I live about 100m from the water, I trolley my ski down there. So that no one can pinch my trolley I lock it to a star picket in amongst the reeds on the bank and hence have to walk through them to get there. Ignorantly I was thinking (as I stand there in bare feet) - surely there wouldn't be any snakes amongst this tall grass and reeds. Then went home to read in the West that a fella had died yesterday from a snake bite just north of Perth.

Hence my issue is, do I leave my trolley unlocked on the sand and risk a thief?

Krisiz, didnt see you out sailing the other day - had it all to myself.

the tip to avoid snake bites when walking in bush is to make a lot of noise by stamping your feet as you walk or just walking heavily.

most times the snake will move on when they feel the vibrations. it all depends on the time of year and how energetic the snakes are also.

if you are in an area with known tigers i wouldn't walk through the long grass at the river bank unless i had to or it couldn't be avoided. your chances of being bitten are very low but why take the risk.

I heard that too. But I found a dugite in my shed a couple of weeks ago, and I banged and jumped and bashed the shed wall and he didn't move 'til I prodded him with a rake (it was the longest handled tool I had!!!)

Went surfing the other day, parked on the beach next to the sand-dunes (high tide) at Crowdy Head, rolled up my board bag and stowed it under the car. When I came in and unrolled the bag a 6' red belly slithered out of it.
Also, a couple of days later passed a 3' sea snake slithering on the water about 200 metres out.
People ask me "aren't you afraid of sharks?" My reply... "it's the snakes you've got to be worried about."

Sailed at Jimmy's Beach NSW earlier this year. There is a sandy path that leads from the rigging area to the water. The path has two sand hills on either side where kids play, run around and jump off.

As I was heading back to the rigging area from the water I thought I saw something move across the path and head up into the sand hill. Another bloke was coming in the opposite direction and said to me "Did you see that snake just then?" I said "I think I did." He said "It was a six foot brown snake."

"Great" I said. "Hope they don't swim."

Tried to tell the kiddies not to play in the sand dunes, but you know kids -don't believe anyone unless you can see it for yourself.

No recorded snake bites there yet.....more good luck than good management.