My first wild snake encounter

[ytamarin]

Well I'm a bit upset today.
For some reason I'd never seen a snake in the wild before. My parents have just bought a house in the country and so I went with them to have a look. The current owners are still there and the man was home so he showed us around. As I walked by a pot plant near the back door I saw what I thought may have been a fake snake sitting in it. When it suddenly flew off under cover, I stupidly called out "ooh a snake!". I was really excited to finally see one! The man said it must have been a lizard (obviously thinking I couldn't tell the difference) and I said it must have been a legless lizard cos it had no legs. So we lifted up the pot to reveal the snake, and the man immediately grabbed his shovel and killed it.
Now I know this is fairly common practice for people to kill snakes that are near the house. I'm just disappointed that the first wild snake I have ever seen had its life cut short because I found it, I feel like it's my fault.

Anyway, now I'm trying to figure out what type of snake it was. The closest I can find is a RBB, it was small (young I guess), black, with what looked like some dark red pattern up towards the head, not very bold. Didn't get close enough to get a better look! Any other sugggestions as to what it might have been?

 

[carinacat]

Poor Little Snake

 

[scorps]

any pics?

 

[slim6y]

OMG - what were you thinknig.. why didn't you tell the man to stop? Sorry, but I would have got that shovel and whacked him one!

You're going to find a lot of flack on this thread me thinks...

In fact so much so that people may be requesting you call the Victoria EPA what ever they're called and have that man fined! It's an offence to harm a native animal!

 

[ytamarin]

It all happened so quick if there were pics they would be of a mashed snake on the end of a shovel.
It was probably about 40cm long, didn't see the underside to see if it was red but do RBBs have and red anywhere else beside the belly? I'm quite sure I saw dark red pattern on top, only near the head.

 

[ytamarin]

I did tell him not to kill it and he said "I know they are protected but not when they are near the family" or something like that. It was right by the door. I have been told this is actually a pretty common thing that people do?? Am I wrong?

 

[GSXR_Boy]

Any other sugggestions as to what it might have been? .

Alive!!

 

[slim6y]

pretty uncommon I would hope - it's illegal. I would have offered to move it

 

[MatE]

What a shame so next time when he gets bitten by a brown snake he will wonder why he killed the RBB.

 

[bitey]

Poor little snake, did you let the guy know that you didn't dig his actions ? (bad pun)

 

[ytamarin]

pretty uncommon I would hope - it's illegal. I would have offered to move it

Yeah, illegal, but so are a lot of other things people do and I don't dob in everyone I see breaking the law. I was quite distressed about what he did and if this was an 'unusual' thing to do I would have reported it, but I'd have thought this is something a lot of people do. Well like I said it's the first time I've seen a wild snake, I don't have much to go on except what I've heard.

 

[PhilK]

People constantly kill snakes around the house. Better the snake than their kids, they think. I tend to agree I'd rather the snake than my kid... Especially out country, 'the only good snake is a dead snake'.

Think there is som loop-hole in the law that says if they're around your house/endangering your family you can kill them. No way you could have stopped him, anyway... But sorry you had to see it.

Happened at a cattle prac the other day. Someone saw a snake (brown, I think) near the cows and just shovelled it.

 

[slim6y]

so you wouldn't report a murder because it happens? Come on... you're a herpetologist - it's an extremist of sorts. You're meant to be out there educating and protecting... Educate the people and protect the wildlife...

That snake wouldn't have harmed ANYONE in that house.. even if it was a RBBS.

It's important to educate - and even more important to protect! It's your hobby, and some of our livelihoods as well (not mine, but I'd like it to be).

So treasure it - don't let people blatantly break the law, you have an obligation to report it.

 

[PhilK]

I'm not saying I don't care, and wherever possible I always encourage not killing it. But to some people, that isn't going to matter. They would rather the snake was dead than the cow was bitten, because that would cost them money. I'm a herpetologist of sorts, but definitly not an extremist. I most defintely don't advocate the killing of snakes (stop PMing me), I'm just saying there is a loophole that allows it.

As for that snake not killing someone, how do you know the owner of the house didn't have a 2 year old son that could have put his hand in the pot plant? People's irrational fear of snakes says "if my kid goes near it, it will bite him." ...Which is sometimes the case anyway

 

[ytamarin]

You're meant to be out there educating and protecting... Educate the people and protect the wildlife...

As far as educating goes, I really don't know what I could have done. My mum grew up in the country and says most people have an attitude about snakes that can't be changed - protected or not, they won't take a chance when they are near the house. This guy knows the law, being fined for breaking it will cause obvious tension between him and my parents (they get along well) and for nothing because he'd do the same thing again next time.
But I have taken what you have said on board for consideration if I am ever in a similar situation.

 

[slim6y]

you're instantly an extremist of sorts as soon as you're a herpetologist - it kind of counts you realise!

Who's PMing you?

And doesn't that just indicate that this is a site full of extremists - it's the wrong word I know, but... It's the ideals that we choose a hobby that's different on the whole to the rest!

Protection and stupidness are very different... that snake would scuttle as soon as it could! Would not attack!

 

[waruikazi]

Sounds like it could have been a collette? And as slimy said, you definately are a really bad bad person for allowing this to happen :roll: it wasn't you who killed it, reporting the guy would do nothing and a kookaburra would prolly have eaten it anyway. You weren't the one at fault.

 

[PhilK]

I'm not saying who PM'd me haha, there's no reason to get petty.

I understand that people are very into herps here (and I am too), but what really grinds my gears is peoples' love of an animal getting in the way of reason.

As for that snake scuttling and not attacking.. how do you explain the 1000s of snakebites reported every year..? Those snakes didn't scuttle. I know of a family that lost a kid to a snake bite. Bet they wished they had shovelled it's head. And I wish they did too.

Snakes are great, but I'd rather a snake died than a person.

 

[ytamarin]

Sounds like it could have been a collette?

Just looking at pics now on the www, it looked like a Collette's but with the pattern only up the head end, and it was in Victoria. I think all the pictures I'm looking at are of adult snakes so it's hard to compare to the young one I saw. Wish I could have got a photo!

 

[PhilK]

Some kind of crowned snake.. Or a juvenile brown snake? They have very varied patterns.