# two call outs



## Fuscus (Dec 30, 2012)

After a drought of a week or so I get two call outs.
First was to Coolum beach where i picked up an extremely relaxed python. It was in a ball and I just picked it up. It untangled itself so I was able to do the standard grip about two thirds down the body. Had the mandatory photos by the customers ( My delightful dial must be on so many Facebook pages) then put it into a rice bag. Normally a big snake into a small bag is difficult but this was like dropping ( large, fat ) spaghetti into a bag.


Second callout was a different kettle of fish and I'm kicking myself for leaving the fully charged GoPro in the car. It would have been a great movie! Call was to a red belly who was in a pandanus tree root system at the kids playground next to the Coolum lifesaving club. I thought this will be easy to find and highly agitated. I was also worried that before I arrived someone called Billy would , despite the pleading of his girlfriend, be a hero.


Of course its at the beach and of course it was crowded and , much to my astonishment, the snake was easy to find, the ring of people pointed me to it. She was agitated - very agitated and looked like she was ready to bolt and/or bite.


I put myself in front of the snake and she went into the root system. I had worked out that it was unlikely that the snake could be coxed into the bag and the best thing would be to look for a safe opportunity to safely grab it by the tail. That opportunity quickly presented itself as it climbed up the root system, looked at me and immediately turned and fled. I have the same effect on women. Pointy end facing to me, bitey end sticking out the other end ( it's important not to get the two ends confused ) so - grab!


I now have this snake by the tail and its head is sticking out of the other side of the root system. The snake was resisting removal from the roots and had twisted and wedged itself in. I didn't want to pull it too hard for fear of harming the snake so I put the bag frame near the snakes head in the hope it would attempt to flee into it. Nope but it was going to give it a good chew. Last time I saw such terrifying chewing was when I cooked my lovely wife smoked salmon and prawn pizza. But then I used the bag frame to intimidate the snake to back off, she relaxed her grip on the roots and was the unceremoniously and safely pulled backward from the roots and dropped into the bag.
Loud applause from the gathered crowd and my head swells another two inches! Door frames are becoming a problem! And it was a quick capture too, l was in and out in less than two minutes!


----------



## Stuart (Dec 30, 2012)

Brilliant work mate and great write up. Cheers for sharing


----------



## ironized (Dec 30, 2012)

I'm interested in knowing if/how much snake catchers charge for a call out?


----------



## blakewilson (Dec 30, 2012)

+1 do they get any money


----------



## Stuart (Dec 30, 2012)

Completely dependent. I do it for free as a community service. I also know folks who make a living from removing snakes.


----------



## blakewilson (Dec 30, 2012)

That is a great thing to do for your passion. I hope in the not to distant future to move house so that i can have a reptile room. It would be awesome to get some more experience under my belt, and a collection growing heh


----------



## MyMitchie (Dec 30, 2012)

I am looking to eventually do some snake catching on the Sunny Coast when I get my licensing sorted!


----------



## ironized (Dec 31, 2012)

SniperCap said:


> Completely dependent. I do it for free as a community service. I also know folks who make a living from removing snakes.



This is what I thought. Do you not feel guilty at times for removing the work from your peers who rely on the income?


----------



## Firepac (Dec 31, 2012)

I usually charge $50 but there are many occasions when I waive it. I certainly don't and can't make a living from it in this area but it covers fuel and keeps me in beer money for 6mths of the year.


----------



## Stuart (Dec 31, 2012)

ironized said:


> This is what I thought. Do you not feel guilty at times for removing the work from your peers who rely on the income?



Considering there are 6 of us licensed to do so, who all do it for free, my answer would be No. The others who have an income off it do not live where I do.


----------



## Fuscus (Dec 31, 2012)

*typo hunt! Why can't I find them before I post?*



SniperCap said:


> Completely dependent. I do it for free as a community service. I also know folks who make a living from removing snakes.


In QLD you need to reapply for you license twice a year, send in detailed reports four times a year and renew your first aid certificate yearly. Then you have car costs, liability, advertising and the fact they never ring at a convenient time. Callouts at 4am are not the worst of it :shock: ! You are expected to drop anything and rush around straight away. If you have a main job (i.e. self-employed) where you can't just drop everything and go, then don't relocate.

Then you have to put up with people, 99% are wonderful but they are not the ones you remember. You have to put up with ex country people seen to think that telling you the nasty way they have killed snakes increase the size and usage of their penis. And then there are the outright psychos. The Sunshine Coast has lots of little hidden pockets. If you have ever wondered what happened to the kids at school whose reports cards read "Does not play well with other children" or "You are required by law to ensure your child is properly tethered and muzzled while at school", well, this is where they end up and meeting them does not leave me relaxed and comfortable.

People who do it for free around here become unreliable and don't last. 

Worst is that the system is cluttered. A lot of people that find me via DERM (or what ever it is called this week ) or via the snake catcher lists say that they have rung eight or ten other numbers before I finally answer. This is partly a housekeeping issue, the lists should be purged every so often as people drop out but a lot of removalists only answer occasionally or do it for only a few months. I wonder how many people give up after the third or forth non answered call and "process" the snake themselves. If you are going to relocate you need to be available at all times!

The other thing is the motivation, on one recent callout the lady told me that she rung another removalist who couldn't be bothered to attend and recommended that she use a broom to sweep the "death adder" off the porch! 

By now it should be obvious I charge but the charge varies depending on time, distance and customer but normally you need to keep the rate as low as possible. I have a very low pensioner rate, I have moved tons of furniture for an elderly lady for a keelback and $30 and an 84yo ex WACS once beat me down to $20 (it was an easy python and just around the corner). Also Oz zoo occasionally rings me up for injured hots - any call outs that I deem as rescues are pro bono.

Of the two callouts in my first post. The carpet I charged for. I try and discourage python removals but it normally doesn't work. Now RBBS callout I didn't charge for as it was on public land. This is the second time I have relocated a snake from a kids playground. I don't refuse these jobs but I should have passed the hat around. But I did get a warm inner glow that lasted until my wife found out the charge.


----------



## Jonno from ERD (Dec 31, 2012)

Invoice the council for it Mark - they won't have a drama paying. We haven't done call-outs in years but that was a pretty common scenario.


----------



## Stuart (Dec 31, 2012)

Fuscus said:


> In QLD you need to reapply for you license twice a year, send in detailed reports four times a year and renew your first aid certificate yearly. Then you have car costs, liability, advertising and the fact they never ring at a convenient time. Callouts at 4am are not the worst of it :shock: ! You are expected to drop anything and rush around straight away. If you have a main job (i.e. self-employed) where you can't just drop everything and go, then don't relocate.



Gah, that sounds like alot of additional work. Here I only need to apply once a year and supply relocation records once every twelve months unless asked. 

My apologies if I offended you earlier with my previous post as it was not my intention. Im lucky enough that any snake call out will be no more than a 15 minute trip from anywhere I am due to the small area we look after and due to it being a small community, we have found that not charging encourages folks to call us (We have a hotline) before trying to deal with it on their own. The plus side is that we generally use our work vehicles so that our overheads are minimal at best. 

In yours and others situations, it would be silly not to charge folks and I would be in the same frame of mind to be honest.


----------



## Fuscus (Dec 31, 2012)

SniperCap said:


> My apologies if I offended you earlier with my previous post as it was not my intention


You have to work a lot harder than that to offend me.


----------



## harlemrain (Dec 31, 2012)

I thought this will be easy to find and highly agitated. I was also worried that before I arrived someone called Billy would , despite the pleading of his girlfriend, be a hero.


Haha that's great, made me crack up something chronic! Kudos on a job well done


----------

