Newb

[AdamH]

Hi, Im here as a result of an encounter with a snake in my yard last summer, (Newcastle nsw) I'm still unsure what kind of snake it was (golden/darkish brown colour with a white looking underbelly, about 2meters long and quite thin maybe a 1.5 inch radius) It was my first and only snake encounter and it scared the hell out of me. It was cornered, I walked passed and it freaked out and went into a S like movement near my frozen bare feet. Pretty sure I did totally the wrong thing and ran like a big girl, I turned to look and it was right behind me, the next thing I knew I was inside my house with the door shut lol.
At the time I thought I had been chased by it, but now I think I just frightened it and that it, like me, went in the only direction it could go. I never saw it again I kept an eye out for a few days, kept the kids out of the area for a while and that was it.
Since then I have gone from your average scared of snakes person to having a strange obsession with them. I now subscribe to viper keeper on you tube lol, as well as the many other videos out there critter cam etc. and I have a keen interest in snakes that Ive never had before. I like the idea of keeping my own snakes one day, maybe a python or two, although I have never handled one and have no idea where to get that experience from, other than reading about it online. Anyway I thought I might say hi and share all that, Ive just joined and I really enjoy reading through the threads here, i am continually learning about these cool creatures, and can't seem to get enough of it, cheers [emoji111]️


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[pinefamily]

Welcome to APS, and the world of reptiles! There is plenty to read as you say. If you plan on getting a snake, best advice I can give you is to do your research first (don't rely on pet store advice), maybe get hold of a book or two. If anyone you know has a snake, go and have a hold of one, or go to a pet shop that sells them to hold one. A snake is a long term pet, so make sure it's for you.
And thanks for sharing your story. Apart from running, there is nothing wrong in your reaction.

 

[twistedFrog]

Hi there and welcome to APS, you have a very interesting story and the fact that it has lead you to become educated on the subject and sparked a curiosity, rather than a go get a shovel attitude, is to be applauded. As pinefamily has said, you have come to the right place! There are many very experienced people who regular this forum and you will learn a lot. With the possible plan to get a python or two, I would also suggest to do your research, ask many questions here of experienced python owners and as pine said not pet store advice, barring one or two of the really good specialist stores, we do have one on the coast that I know of who have excellent knowledge. PM me if you want to know which store(would possibly upset sponsors mentioning in open forum)
I have a beautiful Mac (Anteresia Maculosa) spotted python (small python only about a metre long) that is an absolute gentle beauty if you would like to experience handling one, I am on the coast and would be happy to offer that to you. There are a few others on APS that are on the coast too, hopefully they will chime in on this thread. Anyway enjoy the journey here and with falling in love with pythons, once you scratch the itch it always itches lol

 

[AdamH]

Thanks guys, I definitely won't rush into anything. I have however built an enclosure just in case something comes my way and I decide to rush out and get my licence lol. Thanks twistedFrog for your kind offer, I might just pm you soon about it. I doubt I'd get a snake if I wasn't confident to get it out regularly, and thats definitely yet to be seen.
Any ideas to what kind of snake might have been in my yard?Somebody said it was most likely a yellow faced whip snake but they look too colourful in the pictures I've seen.
Cheers [emoji106]


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[Herpo]

Welcome Adam.

As [MENTION=41859]twistedFrog[/MENTION] said, your attitude to reptiles after such an encounter is commendable. The world of reptiles is an amazing one, with much to offer. I am still relatively new to it, but I love it.

Regrading your question towards handling, let me first tell you that you have nothing to worry about. While they are intimidating when they curl up like that, their bark is worse than their bite! And once they are used to you, almost all pythons grow to tolerate handling and just go along with it.

As Frog said, pet shops are a good starting point for handling. Apart from one in my area, I wouldn't trust pet stores much with info. But you are bound to find a well meaning employee who will let you handle one of their well mannered pythons.

But think this through. As Pinefamily said, pythons are a long time commitment. Anyway, good luck, and hope you enjoy it here!

Herpo

 

[Dopamel]

not sure where you are in Oz but it might have been a juvenile brown snake....i immigrated from America to Australia five years ago and found a snake that sounds similar in color and size to yours, and picked it up because it obviously wasn't "Brown" in Indiana there were 191some species, only 2 were venemous.....ain't like that here! found out later that Brown babies can be silver and gold and had a big scare....

 

[BredliFreak]

Welcome mate,

I would like to first off congratulate your attitude towards all reptiles, ven or non-ven. Generally speaking a lot of people would be getting the shovel or shotgun but you have turned your experiences into a passion. As for a pet python, in my state we can't sell them commercially but try find a local breeder, they generally have the knowledge and will probably give you a better price and a lot of information. They should sort you out with holding, if not some zoos have walking carpet pythons/Burmese pythons and so that might help. If you decide against a snake, blueys are great pets as well, depending on your enclosure. Best of luck, and I'm glad you're not some maniac shovel wielder, we need less of those.

Regards,
Bredli

P.S It's most likely a brown, best to steer clear.
P.P.S Viperkeeper and ABTV are awesome, stay subscribed!

 

[AdamH]

Cheers. Dopamel I'm in Newcastle NSW. The person who said whip snake was a local snake catcher/handler. He said when it comes to vens he'd only ever caught red bellies in my little suburb. Still, that doesn't mean much does it? we have allot of bushland near by, and anythings possible being that this is Australia right..
Bredli it's funny you should say that, I was only admiring a little bluey in my yard this morning. I've always had them around, usually I see big ones but this one was quite small, had the brightest orange coloured banding I've seen in a bluey. They are usually much darker and generic looking whenever I see them. I hear they have a hell of a powerful bite? The enclosure I built is 4x2x2 or 1200x600x600. I really like blueys, I've started looking at beardies too, they look like something my kids might enjoy. Might need to build a few more enclosures haha


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[pinefamily]

That size is perfect for a beardie. Beardies or blueys are both easy to look after, and very handleable.

 

[BredliFreak]

Blueys can have a powerful bite from what I've heard, but they generally are pretty mellow (excluding the hypermelanistic ones). Beardies should be good too, they are great couch lizards. With snakes, what kinda size are you looking for? If you are after small, then your Ants (children's) are the go but for larger ones I would recommend carpets.

As for the snake you saw, something that big could only really be a brown.

Bredli

 

[AdamH]

With snakes, what kinda size are you looking for? If you are after small, then your Ants (children's) are the go but for larger ones I would recommend carpets.

Bredli

I like them all, I probably lean towards the overall look of the carpets and their head shape etc. but I like the ants too, I really like the look of the patternless childrens. Woma's are great looking snakes also. I could see myself with any of the aussie pythons really. No wonder I've noticed that snake people tend to have a 'collection'..


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