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tonic

URGENT!!

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Ok, so I was doing a bit of watering in my little greenhouse this afternoon. I had done a fair bit and I was scratching in the pot of a little TBM to see if it was dry, it was, but I couldn't water it because much to my surprise there is a snake wedged in between this pot and a number of other pots, I came about 3cm from touching it :huh: before I noticed it was there. As you might guess I eveacuated the greenhouse immediately.

What I am afetr is a possible ID and methods to remove it as I really don't want it in there as I can't get to my cacti.

Here is a description, though I can't see it properly. It is long and skinny [coiled up] probably about 10-15mm at the thickest. My estimate is when unfurled it would be possibly a couple of feet long. It is brown [am pretty sure it is an eastern brown snake, all the more reason I want it out of there], it also has some brown speckles of varying colour along its body. The main brown colour is like a really dark tan. It has a salmon or apricot coloured underbelly. It has a small pointy head [looks venomous to me] and as far as I could see it has bright yellow eyes. I would offer a photo, but is well hidden and can't even see it that well myself, so probably can't get a photo.

My location is hot, humid, coastal NSW, northern Sydney region. This should give a good indication of what it might be from description and locale.

Any ideas what it might be? Would love to know and would be much appreciated.

Also, any ideas on how to get it moving along, I want it out of there so I can finish my watering and get on with potting up etc.

Thanks.

-Phos

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Call ur local snake remover, or just go inside and hjave a cuppa tea and you'll prolly never see itr again. Spray it with the hose from a distance to encourage it to move along. Don't stress too much, I've worked in my g/house for hours before with a brown snake slithering about in it. They are very nervous and will flee before biting.

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As long as there is an escape route i.e. the door is left open, it'll find it's own way out but you could try making some noise if you don't want to wait. Try banging a couple of saucepans together or something.

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Will probably have to call a snake remover, though how they will get here is another story. The strange thing is my greenhouse is on my large deck which sits about 20 or so feet from the ground and the snake is sitting about 4 feet off the ground on a mesh rack. it's been in there since I noticed it and is still sitting there. Might give a blast of water tommorow if it's still there, like you suggested.

Don't want it escaping onto the deck and hiding someplace else. I would much rather it just went back into the bush. Think it might have gone in there yesterday to escape the torrential rain we had, nice and dry and warm in there.

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strangebrew I gave a bit of a squirt of water with an atomizer earlier and then tried banging the glass and rattling the bench [from a vantage point where it couldn't bit me of course], didn't really seem that bothered, it had shifted it's position slightly when I looked again an hour later is all. Surely it will need some decent sun, some water and a meal soon? I suppose it will move on soon..........I hope.

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LMAO, Snakes are deaf!!!!!!!

They have NO ears. :lol:

They lost their ears and evolved to feel viabration. Play your double bass :D

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or just stomp your feet, it'll be more effective :P

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Yeah I knew they couldn't hear, that's why I was banging the glass as it vibrates the whole bench. So the snake seems to have moved along now, question is WHERE THE HELL IS IT NOW??? :unsure:

Will just have to keep my eyes open and hope it doesn't chose to make my g/house it's home. I suspect now that this snake is a nocturnal slitherer as it become more active as the air cooled and the light faded, I saw it start to make a move, then it seemed to vanish. Wish I knew what it was, beautiful snake it was, just didn't want it in my g/house.

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How about getting a mongoose? If they'll eat cobras, a little brown snake would be easy!

LOL, I have enough trouble trying to keep those damn pesky possums out of my cacti let alone letting some other critter running riot in there.

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Ya just gotta remeber that snakes are just as afraid of us as we of them, if not more.

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Well as Aus has the poisonious snakes on earth so as easy trap is put a mouse, in the trap in a perferated plasitic shell.

The urine smell and squealing/squicking would attrack a nocturnal snake.

But such all traps are a conical ,

So easy to get in and hard to get out.

Just transport the deadly snakes in some not human house area.

A plexiglass trap would reassure the animal control people who would have to deal with such what type of snake as they could see it and take some time to figure out what to do.

hard on the mouse but it doesn't get bitten and swallowed.

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i would follow najas advice(on anything animal), however if u have sick,elderly peeps living there would be a good idea to call a snake man to come get it, sounds like a browny to me and they will definatley kill a kid or old person, and put u out of action for quite a time. familiarise urself with snake bite first aid if u havent already, as this is the time nests start hatching i believe? correct me if im wrong, but if u have one juvenile snake in ur greenhouse id bet there are more around also!

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Around here we've had a flush of snakes and rats due to the recent rains and warmer weather etc... locally, anything that is brown-black on top with a lighter underbelly, pink red yellow, quite skinny for its length with a small bullet head is lumped into a basket labelled "redbelly blacks". Those fuckers are fast, nasty, aggressive, territorial and I've seen even "newborns" barely 4 inches long about the size of a worm that were having a fair crack at biting flesh, rather than making their way to the nearest convenient exit point like most snakes.

I tend to get carpet snakes and redbellies in the greenhouse and amongst my potted stuff, generally speaking if you don't fuck with them they won't fuck with you but beating crap out of one side of an area in the warm of the afternoon and then moving all pots to a clear spot behind you or whatever , move progressively scaring and shifting, can "clean out" a collection you plan to load into a car etc. You can chase snakes out with noise, thumping, cats, water etc but if you don't change the setup they'll come right back. In my case, the snakes come for the bushrats and small birds that steal my cocopeat for nesting, and sometimes nibble bits off my plants. Once the rats are all gone, the snakes go in search of other food.

Just don't try to kill em or grab em, both are A grade ways to end up in an ambulance, IF you get to the phone in time.

Personally I don't mind snakes anywhere as long as they're not in the house, even the roofspace is ok for the odd carpet snake... snake smells better than poisoned rat anyday.

VM

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Remember colour has little to do with snake ID, seen really yellow western browns before. Juvenile browns just about always have a dark mark on their head usually followed by a banding. If you could show a pic that would help a hell of a lot. Could even be a Brown tree snake..not overly dangerous unless you have allergies.

You mention the snake was 4ft up? Browns rarely climb, they are more of a ground dwelling species.

It is best for the snake to be left where it is. If it gets relocated you will be putting another snake out somewhere, the snake that gets relocated might get the food source but it will push another snake out.

First thing to do if bitten is bandage it, preferably with 2-3 crepe bandages. If non available use a shirt or something. Take off all items of jewellery, they can act as a tourniquet and can lose a body part if swelling occurs. Splint the limb and immobilise. If bitten on the arm put it in a sling. Also mark on the bandages where the snake bit you. Never wash the bite site, docs can swab the bite and tell which type of snake bit you.

When in hospital never let them take of the bandages unless you are on a drip and have a vial of antivenen sitting there. They should only cut away where you marked the bite site to tell what snake bit you first. After they have an ID they should take off 1 bandage only and wait an hour for symptons to arise. Then take another off, wait. Then the last one. If they go to take off the bandages too quickly it will shoot the venom through your body fairly quickly as the bandages will make it build up pressure.

Have to remember that most doctors don't treat snake bites as it's a fairly uncommon thing. They can make mistakes. Be scared if they reach for the textbook. Actually don't panic it will make the venom travel faster :P

We have venomous snakes devance not poisionous :wink:

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thanks dodie, sounds like good sensible snakebite tips and i few there i've never heard.

a council i worked for put on a snake seminar. (i'm not sure why. i haven't stumbled upon more than 10 snakes ever, and if you do, your response is always pretty simple. remove yourself from the snake, either slowly, or very very quickly).

all i learned about ID was that unless you know quite a lot about snake ID, you don't know JACK about snake ID. colour is REALLY misleading, as some species come in such an array of markings.

i used to think that where there was noise, there were no snakes, until i had a (probably) brown python attempt to crawl on me at a doof. anyway, i was moderately tempted to play with it, as i thought it was a non-fatal snake, and there are lots of tricks to handling snakes. it would have been a retarded thing to do though, simple as that.

vert, at this seminar, they said that redbellies will probably outrun you! they even chase people down on ATV's!! so they must slither pretty fast. actually, that makes me wonder if the smartest thing to do to a redbelly is to fight it out? you'll never hear an expert say that but if it's gonna run you down and attack you... i dunno. any opinions?

yellowbelly black does not exist by the way. myth was possibly started by a midnight oil lyric?

good luck phosphene. i would definitely start using rat baits, or somehow encourage kookaburras heheh.

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Threads like these make me realise how whimpy I am.

A few months ago I kept having dreams of walking into dense populations of snakes who bite me all over as I ran around screaming pissing blood. Was a very awful dream, based on how I coped in the dream, doubt reality would be much better

I would go with the snake handler.... :)

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Snakes don't chase people down. I think the fastest land speed for a snake (native I believe) is 11kph, fastest human is nearly 40kph. You can outrun any snake easy as pie.

Most snakes don't have the best of vision, if you were to stand completely still they will not see you as a threat. Just another tree to them.

I would try the snap traps before rat baits Thunder, if a snake swallows a rat that's been baited it will die too.

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Phosphene the snake would no doubt still be around (unless it's been eaten) snakes don't wander too much. Females having a radius of around 1/2 acre and males around an acre so they can find the girls. Small and young snakes are very timid, they are an easy prey item for a bird and such so they will just about always hide.

You may never see the snake again but it'll be around somewhere if still alive.

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I agree with Dodie, unless you have a Black Mamba in your greenhouse you should be ok :) LOL.

While on the subject, I thought Mama's could reach up to 20kms? not to meantion being able to rear themselfs up to headhight.

Some amazing stories out there about them chasing people down and then biting them in the face but no doubt its mostly BS.

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Your right Andy, I sorta meant fastest Australian snake :P Mamba's can get up to 12mph, which is still slower than us human folk.

Yeah there are unfortunately a lot of bs stories about snakes that just make more people fear them. I read an article a couple of weeks ago about a few people that were hanging out when all of a sudden out of the bushes burts a eastern brown. It 'went' for the people and a guy managed to grab it by it's tail and throw it onto the road just when a truck ran over it. They showed a picture and there was a nice big dead water python. Damn rednecks and their bs.

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Beautiful olive python, perfect camo if it wasn't pulling a wallaby out of the water :P

Adders are stunning in the flesh, they come in the most diverse and amazing colours (which snakes don't though ;))

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sparkster...hilarious...

Snakes don't chase people down. I think the fastest land speed for a snake (native I believe) is 11kph, fastest human is nearly 40kph. You can outrun any snake easy as pie.

Most snakes don't have the best of vision, if you were to stand completely still they will not see you as a threat. Just another tree to them.

I would try the snap traps before rat baits Thunder, if a snake swallows a rat that's been baited it will die too.

i've heard something about rat baits only killing the rat, and not killing whatever eats the rat. i don't know.

anyway, maybe this snake guy meant that it can run you down when you are held up by scrub and obstacles, and the snake just slithers straight through all of that. it seems odd that a snake guy who is supposed to be teaching us would just spread BS.

i think the point was that SOME snakes ARE aggressive.

personally, when i see a snake i go 0-40km in a quantum instant, even if that means going over the snake.

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I wouldn't call any snake aggressive, defensive yeah but not aggressive. If you've got one bailed up in the corner and your flapping your arms around it's head it will take it as a threat and take a snap. If your a few meters away just standing there your fine.

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