Rbbs rescue now!

[-Peter]

As long as your around. If you are going to be out tomorrow for any length of time remove the netting otherwise the snake will be stuck out in the sun and it could also take some serious injuries from the netting.

 

[Fiona74]

Thanks for the tip Peter. It's been a long wait but I just checked and I can see him peeking out of his hole. Hope fully he will try and come further out for the arvo sun.

 

[ryanharvey1993]

do you have much bush around where you live? we have heaps of bush but no snakes lol. last red bellied black got killed as my dad was being a big "hero". it was only a hatchling but as I said before there hasnt been any others around for 10 years now

 

[Fiona74]

We are opposite a railway line then on the other side of that leads down to a river, so kind of bush, we are on 2.5 acres. So across the road is long grass, a few gum trees etc.
Hubby is home (and under control). we just saw the rbbs in the cavity of the brick wall, you know how the bricks have those ventilation gaps in them, he was behind there.

 

[saratoga]

Wish I could get views of RBBs from my balcony...truly beautiful snakes!

I'm quite shocked by the idea of putting out netting to try and catch the snake....even if its head/neck was to get caught in the netting it would still be hard to remove from the crack...or worse still it could pull the netting with it back inside.

Please tell me this is not a technique used by most snake catchers!!

 

[zard]

we have had quite a few rbbs here, had alot of hatchies last year, found one in the rain water tank.. what a job getting that out. I dont have the kid issue but was always worried about my cat and dogs, needlesly so it seems, because thyey are allowed to get up close and personal with our snakes they are used to them and dont bother investigating any in the yard..

i hope you catch it and move it sucesfully

 

[Fiona74]

Re the netting, I rang the guy back and asked if we should remove the netting overnight but he thinks keep it there. Any other catchers thoughts????
My gut feeling says if still not caught by dark, remove the netting and hope it goes on its merry way. I'd hate to wake up in the morning and find a dead or injured snake.

 

[Casey]

Personally i would remove it, but then I wouldnt have used it in the first place, Too much can go wrong when using netting, in my opinion.

 

[DanTheMan]

Yea i 2nd that, remove it, seen to many snakes get killed/badly injured by netting, im suprised a snake catcher would use this technique.

 

[Fiona74]

I have removed the netting. Especially for overnight. I couldn't bear the thought of waking up and finding him all tangled up. I don't think I will put it back on either, surely the snake will move on soon. I love having him around anyway.

 

[mattyandnat]

yeah id hate to be in your position with kids at that age and such a beautifull snake it would be cool to have one in the back yard for a while. Would they decide to make it theyre forever home or just move on? How toxic is rbbs venom? Would it affect kids alot worse than adults? Sorry for all the questions don't own any snakes and fascinated.

 

[redbellybite]

the netting isnt a good idea in my opinion...i think it does more harm then good and can actually do major damage to the snake ...if it did get tangled up it would panic and most likely struggle to the point of the netting cutting into its body ...all you need to do is pull him out to the ground and let him go on his way..you dont need to touch or tail him ..if you have a long handle rake take a wire coat hanger ,stretch it long ways so your making a hook ,tape it to the rake handle so you have plenty of distance between you and the snake and if you can hook up pull him out to the ground watching him and hope he doesnt try n get back into the gap ..if you find he holds onto the handle just place the whole rake onto the ground and wait till he moves on ....good luck dino ...

 

[redbellybite]

yeah id hate to be in your position with kids at that age and such a beautifull snake it would be cool to have one in the back yard for a while. Would they decide to make it theyre forever home or just move on? How toxic is rbbs venom? Would it affect kids alot worse than adults? Sorry for all the questions don't own any snakes and fascinated.

yes to answer your question it would be far more dangerous if a small child was to be bitten by a venomous rbb snake, as one ,they are small ,two, its harder to convince a child to remain calm ..and the list goes on ...rbbs toxin is not something to be shrugging off as a nothing venom ..you certainly are at risk from long term problems after being bitten ,even though you may pull through the initial bite ,without much of a major drama..rbbs venom is a strong coagulant,it destroys red blood cells and has cytotoxic actions,which means it carries a substance that has a poisonous effect on cells...it also has a mild effect on nerves ...so as you can see it wouldnt be much fun being bitten by a rbbs...as far as the rbbs making a permanant home in dinos place ..I doubt it ,I would say aftre she explained that there is a river across the way from her house ,this fella has gone on a bit of a journey and pulled up at dinos for a bit of a camp ...

 

[rash]

I know how you feel about having young children around. I have a 2yr old and a 3 mth old, Taige my 2 yr old see's my woma and carpet on a daily basis and i can imagine him trying to touch the first ven he see's laying around the yard. He's not old enough to understand yet.........quite scarey to think about.....

Ash

 

[DonnB]

Im surprised they are even aloud to use netting. I no its illegal he in VIC and thought it would be elsewhere also. Most snakes caught via that method either die a horrible death or get serious damage to them. Glad you took the netting out.

 

[Fiona74]

I had a dream about it all last night! lol.
I can't see any sign of him this morning but I reckon he is still in there as the sun hasn't hit that spot yet and it's only early. We were thinking about going out today (for something to do, not because of the snake) so maybe if there is peace and quiet around he will venture out and slither off. My thought is if the kids are running around he's not going to get a chance to go. I need to set up a surveilance camera!

 

[Aslan]

Dino - Who was your catcher...?

I know two of our local guys (one is a regular senior member on APS) and both are fantastic. I would do as they recommend as both are particularly experienced...

 

[Fiona74]

The catcher was Neville from Syd Wildlife Rescue, I have used him b4 (not for a snake though) he was really good. I have no doubt he knows what he is doing but I was out all day yesterday so couldn't be home to keep an eye on the netting. Anyhow I haven't seen the snake since which is a bit disappointing but for the best I suppose. I have Neville's number now and will definately call him again if I need to.