Sunshine Coast snake catchers are describing it as the “brown snake bonanza”, with call-outs to relocate some “absolute units” from properties around the region.
Snake handlers have been busy in recent weeks, despite the sudden drop in overnight temperatures, as snakes look to keep warm during the day.
Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 has been taking to social media with snippets of recent jobs, mostly involving the venomous eastern brown and red-bellied black snakes.
Their videos range from snakes inside chicken coops, bamboo fences and by front doors to a python under a wheelie bin and two male red-bellied black snakes “combatting”.
While on a call-out to a “ginormous” eastern brown recently, Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7’s Stuart McKenzie said his team had been kept busy with the venomous species.
“It’s all happening today, we’ve had multiple calls for browns snakes,” Mr McKenzie said in the video.
“This might be the start of a brown snake bonanza, happens every year.”
In another post, snake catcher ‘Giffo’ is seen holding a eastern brown described as a “unit” of a snake.
Meanwhile Daniel Busstra, known as Snake Catcher Dan, has been also been busy also with call-outs.
He recently caught a “healthy” eastern brown from a property at Diddillibah and described it as a “big unit”.
Speaking with Sunshine Coast News, Dan Rumsey from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 said he was being called out to snakes of all species and sizes.
“We went to a call-out and it was actually a juvenile eastern brown snake that was in an office,” Mr Rumsey said.
“It had literally just slid in past one of the workers the previous day.”
He says while night calls have slowed down thanks to the cooler temperatures, the cold-blooded, sun-loving reptiles are still active during the day.
“They’re still out and about,” Mr Rumsey said.
“While it’s quite cool at night, most of the species are still going to make the most of the above-20 (degree) conditions during the day.
“Being on the Sunshine Coast, we don’t have the deep, long winters like the ACT or Victoria, so we still see a lot of snake activity (throughout winter).
“The only thing that does change is that they are little bit slower as they can’t reach those consistent higher body temperatures.”
Mr Rumsey said this time of year was ideal for darker-coloured snakes, which could be why residents are sighting more eastern browns and red-bellied blacks.
“The brown snake videos are always interesting for people to watch, so we do post a lot of them,” he said.
“But the weather of late has also suited red-bellied black snakes.
“They like it when it is a little bit cooler because they obviously are very dark-coloured snakes, so when it’s too hot they would rather retreat.
“This time of the year they tend to sit in the sun longer, or bask in the sun, for a longer period of time to try and bring their body temperature up.”
Mr Rumsey, who was a reptile keeper in zoos for many years before transitioning into snake catching, credited the recent hot and humid conditions to the healthy population of snakes.
He said the abundance of food for these animals was helping them reach “big” sizes.
“We’ve had perfect conditions – hot and humid weather and food abundance,” he said.
“It’s not to say there’s more snakes, or they are bigger than they’ve ever been before, we’re just finding ones that are in really good, healthy nick because of the food abundance around them.”
In terms of safety and education, Mr Rumsey is reminding people to never try to handle or kill snakes.
He says to always call a professional, especially if there is a snake in the home.
“I always tell people they should be wearing shoes outside, particularly closed in, and another big one is pet safety,” he said.
“Even if people just need a snake identified that is outside, we can always help with that.
“The best way to avoid being bitten by a snake is to never try to catch or kill them.”
Mr Rumsey said it was also important everyone brush up on first aid for snake bites and said Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 had educational tips and video on its website.
In Queensland snakes are protected under the Nature Conservation Act and it is an offence to kill, injure or take snakes from the wild.
Snake catchers will relocate snakes to their natural environment, away from built-up and suburban areas.
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