More words from Nick: Sunday morning snake ...

Sunday morning and we were all quietly enjoying ourselves.

Vaughan and I had been reliving memories of our previous day's rocketry adventure and had started construction of the next rocket to be fired. We were working on the large table out the front and Vaughan had gone inside. Next thing he started yelling about a snake at the back door.  I started to move around to the back but had to get my other glasses.

Once I had the right glasses on, I could see there was a mulga snake in the grass between the end of the house and the garden area. I left Rebecca and Erin to watch it while I gathered some equipment.

I didn’t have my trusty snake bag and hook as the bag had been shredded by a large goanna before we moved to Melbourne - and there is not much call for reptile handlers in Southern Victoria ‘cos it’s freezing down there.

I improvised by using Louie's broom and the bag from last week's snake relocation.

Today's snake was a little over a metre long and quite calm. He just wanted to get in out of the sun. Into the house that is. I tried to coax him away from the wall but he was not keen. The corrugations offered plenty of access to the wall cavity and it was my opinion that he would not be a welcome addition to the household.

I ended up using the broom to toss him about two meters into the grassed yard. (Rebecca just happened to be in that direction but my attention was firmly fixed on the snake).  He immediately tried to get back to the cover of the house.

These snakes are much like the red- bellied black snake in temperament and behaviour, so I continued to move him gently and he remained calm.

I tossed him over to the grass a little further then managed to keep him herded in the open area with the broom.  He was hard to tail as he kept moving back over his own length.  I laid the bag out with a small opening and managed to convince him it was the safest place to be, then fastened up the end.

Everyone was feeling a lot more relaxed when the bag was tied off, so we went and made a release video. You can watch it if you like.

A few words from Nick: A tale about a tail-less snake!

I was walking BlackGate Road today, enjoying finding good opal and not having to dig for it.

Black Gate Road was constructed from crushed mine waste and contains considerable colour.

I saw a car coming up the road and a pair of locals I knew stopped and asked how I was doing. I showed them the piece I had just picked up which was dazzling with colour in the sun. They were suitably impressed. We talked about the sort of opal found and how it came to be there.

They then mentioned they had a snake on their verandah. I expressed happiness for them but it seemed they weren't happy.  They voiced their concern and asked if I could remove the snake. I then realised they had come up just to get me and they confirmed they went to the shack first - and Rebecca told them where I was.

I went with them to their house and caught the snake in a white feed bag. The couple are residents of Yowah but are not at all good with snakes. The lady was nowhere to be seen for the snake-catching and when I called the man for a bag he wouldn’t come to the door. Instead, he tossed the bag through the window.

I'm glad I didn’t need any help or worse, some first aid. I would have had to take the snake out before any help was forthcoming!

As I observed the snake, I noted it was the same one that I had previously shoo-ed off the back road. He/she is identifiable due to missing the end of it's tail.

It was a hot day and the snake needed to be released quickly. I took him/her up Blackgate Road to release near where I had found the good opal earlier that morning. I took Rebecca and Erin with me as good photos are essential and Erin likes the release bit.

The snake was not being very cooperative for a good photo. As I was about 30 metres away from Rebecca and Erin, I herded him a bit closer to them. I looked up to see Erin and Rebecca running back to the car and trying to climb in the closest door. Erin got in the front seat first and Rebecca was arguing that was her seat and Erin needed to get out “NOW!!”

I went over and got the camera and took the close-up photos myself. As you can see the snake was very well behaved.

I identified him as a Western Brown snake although I didn’t get him upset to see inside his mouth. They have black inside their mouths (Nuchalis).


I have seen a few of these snakes now and they seem quite similar in appearance. Out here they have colouring like the Mulga snake but he has a slightly different shaped head and behaves a bit differently when approached.

Opal and a snake on Blackgate Road. Overall a very good day.

A few words from Nick: Sssurprise visitor(sss)!

Hello everyone. Nick here - the guest blogger.

I was digging today and looked down and there was a snake at my feet looking quite agitated. It went under the edge of the hole (there is a considerable overhang at the bottom of the hole).


I dug for a while longer then decided to give him a chance to escape. I set up my chair and sat and had a drink. He came out from under the edge of the bottom of the hole and began to move away. I took some photos and made sure he moved far enough away. He didn't. He moved about five metres and disappeared into a clump of grass. I would assume there is a burrow amongst the grass clump.

He was identified at this time as a western brown snake and was about 120cm long. I didn't bring him home for Vaughan to have a look at as I did with the blind snake I found yesterday.  Vaughan said he was fine with that.

Yesterday's blind snake had fallen into the bottom of the mine along with several pieces of sandstone I had cut from the side. He looked a bit injured.

When I got him home he had his mouth full of dirt. I got the magnifiers on and cleaned out and washed his mouth. Vaughan was keen to release him so we found a termite nest he could access (they are known to feed on termite/ant larvae and eggs). He went straight in and seemed to be happy to be heading away from us.

Altogether two very positive encounters with the local reptile community. Funny that Vaughan gets all the lizards and I get the snakes. Must be lucky.

Canned snake!

Nick completed his WIRES snake handling course in November 2010 and has been called out for quite a few rescues since then.

He has definitely gained a lot of knowledge and experience since his first novice relocation in March 2009!


Without doubt, this most recent rescue was the most interesting.  The Red-bellied Black Snake had dropped into a mechanics' pit and managed to get it's head stuck in a coke can.  Nick brought the snake home as it was and then worked on the reserve at the back of our house to free it from the can.

Vaughan and I played photographers from a distance, making good use of my zoom lens! 

At one stage we thought the snake was dead, it was laying so still but seemingly it was tricking because it was quite lively/cranky when out of the can! Nick checked it thoroughly before later releasing it back to its home territory (about 50 minutes drive down the Coast from us).

To the rescue!

We were walking along the lookout path when we met a couple coming the other way. They mentioned a snake just off the path, so of course we investigated.

We soon spotted the Diamond Python resting in the open.

It seemed injured, so Erin emptied her handbag and Nick manoeuvred the snake inside.

Contact was made with the local WIRES reptile person and we arranged to meet her later in the evening when we were back at our accommodation. She was appreciative of our assistance and quite pleased to have a snake guest for rehabilitation.

Until that handover, the snake remained safely encased in Erin's bag and tucked under her jumper for warmth!

(Keegan remained happily oblivious to the hitch-hiker)!

Sssnake!

Nick took the snake pic - the rest of us stayed in the car!

We were on the road early for our Quilpie adventure and spotted this Mulga snake not far out of Yowah.

Although we had expected more, we only saw four snakes while away - all on the road, two alive and two dead.

Snake handler

You might remember the rice bag and BBQ tongs of March 2009?! Things have changed since then!

Nick attended a WIRES snake handling course in November to broaden his WIRES skill-base (and be better prepared for our adventuring expeditions).  He attended his first call-out just a week after completing the course.    
  
Nick's second call-out was funny.  The caller had helpfully barricaded a door to prevent the snake moving any further from it's hiding place under a blanket box. 

Nick slowly moved furniture and tentatively used his long-handled hook to retrieve ... a shoe (and then a second)! Hah!

Snakes alive!

Later identified as a Black-bellied Swamp Snake

As Nick and I were sitting beside the campfire one night (happily drinking hot chocolate, after sampling a very fine camp oven bread and butter pudding), we were visited by this juvenile snake.

Over the years there has been lots of debate as to whether snakes are or are not nocturnal (try saying "not nocturnal" fast, three times!) - and it seemed this one definitely enjoyed the night-life!

The amateur snake-catcher!

Given the curiousity of our young boy, we decided to relocate the snake.  Nick was armed with long-handled tongs (and a rice bag). I had the torch.

Nick was not keen to clamp the tongs too tight and damage the snake - and the snake was not keen to stay still, so it was an interesting exercise!

As torch-bearer, I was a bit too skittish to be overly useful but eventually the snake was caught - and gently moved a considerable distance away from our camp.