SNAKES!
Makes spiders seem almost cuddly.
On Sunday the cat spent several hours looking up into the tree outside my studio. I went to investigate and found this.
When I showed my neighbour, he said ‘that’s only a baby python, I’ve got skins in the trees 4 mtrs long”. Very reassuring.
Not sure if I’ve shown you the photos he took recently of the python in the trees which overhang our yard.
I received a reply by email from the Tropical Zoo about this snake (see end of post).
Well today I saw a snake that was not a python, a couple of metres from my car in the overhanging tree. Maybe the warmth of the car engine attracted him (it was pretty cold this morning for the Tropics).
When I sent off an email with photos to the Tropical Night Zoo, they kindly sent back this reply:
“These are all Common Green Tree snakes, nothing to worry about unless you happen to be a frog! Their diet is approx 90% frogs.
They won’t eat caged birds and your other pets don’t have to sleep with one eye open.”
He was happy to have his photo taken, but watched every move I made. He’s gone now, I don’t know where. The manhole cover is off the ceiling now. I still don’t know what’s up there, unless I get up and crawl about with a torch. After the Zoo Man’s email (below), I don’t think that’s going to happen:
“This one is an Amethystine Python commonly called a scrub python or “Scrubby”. They are
You should lock up wee dogs and cats while they are around as these snakes find them very tasty. Hopefully they will take out your bandicoots.
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a belated happy new year to you, my friend! e.
SNAKES ALIVE! The birds are cute and the photos great. The slithery critters you can have. Pythons are beautiful to look at but I wouldn’t like one in the house. We have had to remove a few snakes from various houses we have had. Some were dangerous too. (snakes that is)
OMG….I`m glad it`s you and not me….lol
The pictures alone give me shivers down my spine…..My son Daniel has a real facination with snakes at the moment…We have a shop full of reptiles ect and he desperately wants a snake as a pet…..I told him in no uncertain terms it won`t be happening in my lifetime…..Especially under my roof….
Hi Diane & Mandy,
Snake has disappeared entirely. Now that I can’t see him, I feel evn more nervous around the low overhanging trees.
I had a green tree snake friend once - I wrote about it on my blog here.
I used to fear snakes but I lost that fear as a zoo volunteer and my green tree snake friend was a big part of why..
They’re not venomous - but they are gorgeous and full of personality.
I do still have fear spiders - it seems from the pics on your blog that you don’t fear them though!
Hi Snos, thanks for stopping by!
Loved your snake story and pics. Your Tree snakes are soo green, mine was more a dirty brown on top. I tried to identify him as a Colubridae (rear-fanged and therefore not lethal!) by looking for that loreal facial scale. I saw it, but wanted a second opinion - the guys at the Zoo were fabulous.
I have been collecting Lace Monitor skin from a shedding fellow - he’s such a cheeky bugger, climbing into the bins. He’d be a couple of metres long. Had a go at me once when he was having a sunbake - cranky in the mornings!
Hi, I think it would be great to have that in my backyard. Love pythons, but we have a different problem. I have found on different occasions the skin of Im pretty sure is a brown snake beside my parents house. Each time it is a little bigger so im thinking its the same snake. However I cant find any holes in ground or anything it could be hiding under. They have a tin roof and on one occasion I could here something sliding up the flashing edge on the roof. On climbing up there was nothing on the roof so what ever it was it was going into the roof. Do brown snakes live in roofs & how would you get it out as they have a mini foxy who loves to chase anything that moves. The skin is always in the same spot. Help
Hi Tiffany,
Brown snakes can be nasty! Not sure if they are the roof dwelling type though. I know of a local python that lives in a neighbour’s roof cavity, only coming down every few months for a meal.
Pythons are nocturnal hunters, whereas brown snakes are more active through the day. I found this info for you:
“Brown Snake venom is extremely toxic, but fortunately this snake has a relatively poorly developed biting apparatus (small fangs and venom glands). However this snake can be easily agitated, is fast moving and must be regarded as highly dangerous. When aroused, the Brown Snake will hold its neck high, slightly flattened in an S-shape, and strike at it’s aggressor at every opportunity. It will even chase off a person who has aroused it. This diurnal snake is found in all types of habitat, but is most common in open grassy habitats and open woodlands. It is active at relatively high temperatures, compared to other snakes.
Large numbers are found in agricultural areas. When resting Brown Snakes are commonly found under man made rubbish such as sheets of metal.”
source : http://www.smuggled.com/melsna1.htm
My advice is to keep an eye on that mini foxy, especially as they are good “hunters” of rats, rabbits and snakes!
Good luck,
Cindy