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Red Belly Black Snake Advice


E4G13M4N

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<H1>Advice re red belly black snake</H1><DIV id=Qtextbox><P><STRONG>Author: fiona ls</STRONG><BR><BR>Hi all,

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There is a red belly black snake that lives in a particular area in my horse paddock. Today my daughter almost trod on it and I was wondering if it would be possible to move it/get it moved somewhere else. I think it usually lives in an old tyre that it's been in before, but today it was sunning itself. I'm also a tad worried about my dogs (not to mention the snake). Any thoughts?

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Thanks.

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Fiona L.S.

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</P></DIV><H2>Replies »</H2><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: starreys</STRONG><BR><BR>Fiona i found one in the garage out in Glenwood one xmas and called the local snake catcher if you ring Blacktown police they will give you his name and he will come out and collect him.

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Sarah

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: slotha</STRONG><BR><BR>Shouldn't it be hibernating? He must be abit confused. How big is it? They are a pretty mellow snake and will try its hardest to avoid an incident.

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: leptomaniac</STRONG><BR><BR>Hi all,

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Red-bellies will interrupt hibernation on sunny days, as their black colour allows for rapid heat absorption, meaning they can remain active.

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Although, the species is relatively inoffensive and tries to avoid human contact, it will bite if trodden on by accident. If you are fearful of such an incident, call someone to remove the snake for you... Of course, never attempt to catch or kill the snake yourself - this is when almost all bites occur. WIRES will be able to provide the contact numbers for repytable snake handlers.

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Let us know how it works out, Fe!

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Cheers,

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Andrew.

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: fiona ls</STRONG><BR><BR>Yes that is what it was doing. When it noticed us it went away but was moving more slowly than it did in the summer.

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I have another question. I was talking to someone about it and they said that red bellies are inoffensive to people but they are territorial towards other snakes and the presence of a black snake might prevent a brown or tiger taking up residence. Any comments on that? Am I likely to find either of those on the flatland around Richmond?

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Fiona L.S.

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</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: jghoward1</STRONG><BR><BR>Red bellies actually eat brown snakes.

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Id much rather have a placed red belly than a aggressive brown.

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Jon

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: Memphis Tank</STRONG><BR><BR>You should be so lucky that this little aussie calls your paddock home.

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You are likely to get the eastern brown "Pseudonaja textilis" but any tiger snake "Notechis scutatus" that comes your way has escaped or fallen off the back off a truck.

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The Red belly will become accustomed to you and your activities and will decide to move on, but like people all snakes have different personalities.

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I once shared a fishing hole with a red belly and it became so accustomed to my being there that we often shared the same logs.

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However, this was the only snake to ever bite (due to my playing the bare foot bushman) me and after going through all the bother of first aid and venom tests it had not delivered a single drop of venom, and it was more a dont pick me up im fine where i am.

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Just think two positives (1) You will be rodent and brown snake free

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(2) Most of us have to wait two years of licensed experience to keep these cute little aussie's.

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Just watch where you walk and dont mess with it unless you really need to. And if you decide something has to give ditch the horse (LOL).

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Memphis Tank

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: leptomaniac</STRONG><BR><BR>Just in furtherance... Red-bellies actually prefer to eat frogs, small mammals are second preferance... only occasionally do they eat other reptiles. It is more likely that a brownsnake will eat a red-belly, as brownsnakes' diet consists almost solely of other reptiles, with the occasional small mammal.

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However, your saving grace is that red-bellies favour different habitat to browns because of their dietary preferances.

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Tiger snakes have a very similar diet to red-bellies and as such, are found in similar areas. Your saving grace thence is that tigers are also entirely inoffensive and in cases where people are bitten by either species, the snake is certain not to have been the aggressor (it's usually the bitee's fault for interfering with the animal).

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I have had much experience with these animals and I have often found tigers and red-bellies in close proximity to each other. Brownsnakes, on the other hand, favour different areas. A google search on these species will reveal the same information.

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Cheers,

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Andrew.

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: E4G13M4N</STRONG><BR><BR>I was at Walkers Flat one year which is on the Murray in SA.

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While walking around we came across a red belly and brown sunning on the same piece of corrugated iron, both snakes were over 4'

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^Mark^

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: leptomaniac</STRONG><BR><BR>Of course, it happens that those species are at times found in association with each other, but it is much more common for Red-bellies and Tigers to be found in similar habitat.

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Andrew.

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: fiona ls</STRONG><BR><BR>I was walking through the paddock and found it dead. It was coiled up on top of a mound of dirt thinly covered with grass, about where I saw it the last time (it was moving that time). It had been dead a few days, was a bit soft, but still in one piece and didn't fall apart when I moved it. It seemed fairly unmarked although there was a grazed bit of skin under the chin. I'm not sure if this was a sign of decomposition or something else. Any ideas what it might have died of? My best guess is that a horse stood on it, but would it have been curled up in that case? It looked like a fairly typical resting snake coil. It was a young snake I think, maybe a metre or a bit over long, and with a slim body.

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Fiona L.S.

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</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: leptomaniac</STRONG><BR><BR>It should have been hibernating at this time of year... Sometimes, they will come out on warm days to get the sunlight, but must not remain outside after nightfall. My guess is that it was caught out and died of cold torpor.

</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: fiona ls</STRONG><BR><BR>I didn't know that they can die of that. I kind of just thought that they cooled off and then warmed up again. I had definitely seen it out and reasonable active (although a bit slow) on a winter day earlier, a nice warm day. Mind you, where it was, had it been caught out, it might have actually frozen, it was down the bottom on the river flat and it gets HARD frost there. Poor thing.

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Fiona L.S.

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</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: leptomaniac</STRONG><BR><BR>May it rest in peace.

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