# most aggressive aussie snake?



## snowsnake (Sep 24, 2009)

ive been told that the eastern brown is the most aggressive snake in australia, but some tell me its others, but personally i think its the eastern brown, i just wanted to know from the experts
cheers malik


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## Acrochordus (Sep 24, 2009)

snowsnake said:


> ive been told that the eastern brown is the most aggressive snake in australia, but some tell me its others, but personally i think its the eastern brown, i just wanted to know from the experts
> cheers malik


Ever snake can be aggressive if it fells threatened, but most likely it will try to escape then stand up to you. The last thing it wont's to do is to bite it would much rather escape then have a confrontation.
Thanks Tim.


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## redbellybite (Sep 24, 2009)

I would say it is a very nervous snake and it over reacts very quickly if feeling threatened ...it is certainly one of the most dangerous snakes to encounter ...


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## AlexN (Sep 24, 2009)

female coastal taipan or inland taipan when startled would perhaps be the most aggressive i've encountered. The eastern brown can be super skitish, and strike very wildly with little warning when scared or being attacked.


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## notechistiger (Sep 24, 2009)

Why female coastal taipan and not males too, AlexN?


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## AlexN (Sep 24, 2009)

Female taipans are all insane... (as with many species  ) as I said, in my experience.. I've seen/handled a few taipans here and there, and in my experience, of handling 4 taipans, 3 female, one male, the females are a lot more jumpy. a lot more likely to get highly agitated when confronted... They are just... Nuts...


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## ShaneBlack (Sep 24, 2009)

The most defensive Australian snake in my experience are palmerston jungles. Eastern browns are pussycats compared to them.


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## snakelady-viper (Sep 24, 2009)

Swamp snakes can be a bit agro. prefere to catch an eastern brown


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Sep 24, 2009)

To many variables to try to narrow it down to one species.
I dont think the sex of the snake has anything to do with it.
Time of the year, temps and humidity could see snakes becoming more defensive than other times.
If the snake has already been harrassed and the you come across it then it dosnt matter what species it is, it will have a go if it feels threatened.
Brown snakes are common, smart, fast and just a bit unpredictable.
They will all usually flee if given a chance, rather than fight though.


> Ever snake can be aggressive if it fells threatened, but most likely it will try to escape then stand up to you. The last thing it wont's to do is to bite it would much rather escape then have a confrontation.
> Thanks Tim.


Tim nailed it.


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## Freemason2250 (Sep 24, 2009)

2 words

Blind Snake:lol:


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## Kersten (Sep 24, 2009)

I've never seen, nor heard or, a truly aggressive snake. Plenty of defensve ones though. Eastern Browns would be up there for defensiveness. Haven't seen many wildly defensive Taipans though. Most that I've seen are more interested in getting the hell away from humans. Same with Browns really, but unlike Taipans they seem to get confused about the best way out of a situation and assume it's though you rather than in the opposite direction.


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## derekm (Sep 24, 2009)

After reading the above posts, it looks like what is being called "aggressive" is a combination of "defensive" behaviour combined with "nervous" disposition. A dog with those two characteristics would be described as a "fear biter" by a professional trainer and be entirely unsuitable for training as a guard dog or personal protection dog - roles which require genuine, but controllable, aggression, On that basis, I am inclined to suspect that snakes do not demonstrate genuine aggression to potential attackers, but only to potential prey.


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## snowsnake (Sep 24, 2009)

ok, i see what you guys are getting at, so what do you think would be more "aggressive,defensive,nervous", an Eastern Brown or a Tiger snake??
one of the teachers keep telling me its a tiger snake, but i know its not!!!!, so tomorrow im coming back to school with proof.........
cheers malik


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## derekm (Sep 24, 2009)

I don't even think its a contest. The eastern brown wins. When I was much younger, I used to go to La Perouse and watch John Cann or his brother do their snake show. While they would regularly turn their backs on every other venemous snake they exhibited (RBBs, tigers, copperheads, death adders, etc) and have more than one out at a time, they always put all of their other snakes back in bags before they got the eastern brown out - and they never took their eyes of the brown snake when it was out. Given the Canns' enormous reputation in the herp community, that's enough for me.

Also, don't try to get away with presenting opinions offered on a forum as "proof" in school. If your teacher understands what proof is, and cares, you will be slaughtered.


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## Kersten (Sep 24, 2009)

derekm said:


> Also, don't try to get away with presenting opinions offered on a forum as "proof" in school. If your teacher understands what proof is, and cares, you will be slaughtered.


Lol exactly. Mind you....there's every chance the teacher doesn't know.....

As someone said before there's too many variables for one definitive answer, in the end it's more an individual snake thing than something related entirely to species. Browns are said to be much more placid the further south you go, so even that one (soon to be two) example isn't conistent.


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## pythons73 (Sep 24, 2009)

The one thats leaves puncture wounds in your leg.....IMO it wouldnt matter what sex the snake is as their both capable of doing as much harm...


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## Jonno from ERD (Sep 24, 2009)

Brown Snakes have a very bad reputation and I can understand why, but for anyone who has worked with enough of them for long enough, they are incredibly predictable snakes that are all instinct driven. This is the big difference between Eastern Browns and Taipans - Browns are dumb, Taipans aren't...


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## JasonL (Sep 24, 2009)

Oxydechis said:


> The most defensive Australian snake in my experience are palmerston jungles. Eastern browns are pussycats compared to them.



LOL 
I think people need to catagorise such things as "aggressive", "defensive" & "capability"... IMO No Aussie snake is aggressive, ie they don't go out of their way to bite you unless they have been provoked.. and are you talking about wild ones, or captive ones? as there can be a huge difference.... The most nutcase snakes I have ever seen was a pair of palmerstons...... though they have calmed right down to only being bitey now :lol:


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## scam7278 (Sep 24, 2009)

id have to say eastern browns cause ive heard so many stories about browns chasing people :lol: :lol: LOL


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## JasonL (Sep 24, 2009)

hobbo said:


> id have to say eastern browns cause ive heard so many stories about browns chasing people :lol: :lol: LOL



Pfft... King Browns will chase you around the car then chew on the tyres!!!


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## Firepac (Sep 24, 2009)

I would have to agree with Jonno, Browns are predictable and therefore with experience relatively easy to work with. Taipans on the other hand are in a class of their own


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## Tim93 (Sep 24, 2009)

From what i've seen, dad has had to catch many Browns etc through WIRES, and most the time i have been there, pretty much in every case they are very warm and have been stired up by one thing or another before hand, (mainly dogs and stupid people trying to kill them or something) and in all cases they have been extremely aggressive.
I have also experianced afew rough scale snakes (also know as the clarence river brown) most have been pretty well behaved but there was one that was dead set nuts, it would to anything to tag you, it actually put a womon in hostbital a week later at a reptile handling caurse:shock: (bit her through the bag)
Also there was one huge King Brown we stumbled accross up North that wanted to eat my brother, it stood up and went for him!

TIM.


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## redbellybite (Sep 25, 2009)

Oxydechis said:


> The most defensive Australian snake in my experience are palmerston jungles. Eastern browns are pussycats compared to them.


 BAAAA HA HA HA .....thats only because PJ's arent scared of you :lol::lol::lol:
you have the elapids all bluffed


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## redbellybite (Sep 25, 2009)

Kersten said:


> I've never seen, nor heard or, a truly aggressive snake. Plenty of defensve ones though. Eastern Browns would be up there for defensiveness. Haven't seen many wildly defensive Taipans though. Most that I've seen are more interested in getting the hell away from humans. Same with Browns really, but unlike Taipans they seem to get confused about the best way out of a situation and assume it's though you rather than in the opposite direction.


 You hit the nail on the head ...totally agree .


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## redbellybite (Sep 25, 2009)

Jonno from ERD said:


> Brown Snakes have a very bad reputation and I can understand why, but for anyone who has worked with enough of them for long enough, they are incredibly predictable snakes that are all instinct driven. This is the big difference between Eastern Browns and Taipans - Browns are dumb, Taipans aren't...


 Yeah but Jonno ..its the dumb ones you gotta worry about


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## -Peter (Sep 25, 2009)

Most aggressive/nervous snake I have ever come across was a patternless childreni.


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## Just_Joshin (Sep 25, 2009)

Dicky-knee's female carpet!!


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## fine_jungles (Sep 25, 2009)

i think it comes down to the individual. 

as with most species ther are always the little pri**s :lol:

cheers Fj


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## Nodrog (Sep 25, 2009)

My adder comes into the little pr*** catergory she went absolutely nuts when i cleaned out her cage she knows she can't eat me but deffinately wants to tag me with he her little damn smile looking mouth....


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## Colin (Sep 25, 2009)

trouser snake


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## elapid66 (Sep 25, 2009)

Colin said:


> trouser snake


oh man you beat me to it


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## Jungletrans (Sep 25, 2009)

There have always been stories in VIC about Tiger snakes chasing people instead of trying to escape . That is probably what your teacher is saying . Eastern Browns tag more people but only because they are common near people and get stood on a lot . But everyone knows the Darwin is the scary one .


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## Kersten (Sep 26, 2009)

You know, come to think of it I've never met a water python that din't have a period of complete and utter psychoticness. Even those I've seen that are placid I've been told have gone through a rough childhood or adolescence. For individual specimen examples though our male scrubby was a complete nut. So nervous at first that he'd loose just about every available bodily function when you tried to touch him and strike until he seemed ready to launch himself into the stratosphere.


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## eipper (Sep 26, 2009)

I had a Taipan that would make any brown i have caught or kept look like a saint.

Cranky snakes need to be dealt with in an appropriate manner, the ease that a cranky snake is handled safety comes down to the skill of the handler.....

Cheers,
Scott


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## redbellybite (Sep 26, 2009)

eipper said:


> I had a Taipan that would make any brown i have caught or kept look like a saint.
> 
> Cranky snakes need to be dealt with in an appropriate manner, the ease that a cranky snake is handled safety comes down to the skill of the handler.....
> 
> ...


Well to be honest I dont like any cranky /nervous/aggitated /agressive snake 
BUt have to admit the hotter the species the tighter the clench butt cheeks get ...

I think alot of the high risk vens can claim to be a bit nervy and as most that have dealt with them can say Now that was a stainer in the undie strainer ...


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## reptilefan95 (Sep 26, 2009)

Easterns are considered aggresive because the probably they are very common so more people get bitten by them.... Ive heard of tigers being aggresive and also taipans but it depends on the snake and how p#s^ed it is


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## reptilefan95 (Sep 26, 2009)

Hey Eipper do you mean you caught and kept a taipan from the wild?


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## Serpentes (Sep 29, 2009)

Slatey-grey snakes followed by broad-headed snakes. Never handled one that didn't try and fang me relentlessly. Brown tree snakes come close too. 

There's a big difference between aggressive and potentially dangerous. Taipans are the most dangerous simply because when you handle one, they tend to stop, think, look at you and figure out their options to take you down. But they are certainly not the most aggressive. Out of 6 wild taipans I have caught none has tried to bite me until on the hook, big or small, male or female. One of them didn't want to bite at all and if it was a harmless species I would have free handled it no second thoughts. Go tailing eastern browns though, and whammo- it's on. The most aggro brown I've dealt with is a speckled brown (P. guttata), the singularly most rlelntlessly attacking individual was a Demansia vestigiata which even returned to attack mode as I released it after capture, and followed me along striking at my heels. No idea why it was unusually hostile. Bad hair day perhaps?


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## eipper (Sep 29, 2009)

reptilefan95 said:


> Hey Eipper do you mean you caught and kept a taipan from the wild?




This what I said

"I had a Taipan that would make any brown i have caught or kept look like a saint.

Cranky snakes need to be dealt with in an appropriate manner, the ease that a cranky snake is handled safety comes down to the skill of the handler.....

Cheers,
Scott"

How do you get that Caught and kept a Taipan from the wild from that????


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## JasonL (Sep 29, 2009)

eipper said:


> This what I said
> 
> "I have caught kept a Taipan that would make any brown i had look like a saint.
> 
> ...



Easy.....Cut and copy Scott... :lol: Sorry, couldn't help it


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## ryanharvey1993 (Sep 29, 2009)

an adult female spotted python I used to have, would walk past its cage, it would hit the side, even if wee were on the other side of the room. and wild, definately not eastern brown we found a big one once a few years ago and were chasing it around for photos and he kept sliding away, was the wussiest snaek we have ever seen for its size lol. probably a small eyed snake I accidentally bumped a tiny bit of board with my foot about 1 for by 1 foot while lifting a big bit, looked down and had it striking at my shoe, I think also stood on him though :lol: but it was only a small eyed :lol:


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## Firepac (Sep 29, 2009)

Serpentes said:


> Brown tree snakes come close too.
> 
> Go tailing eastern browns though, and whammo- it's on.



Have to say this is totally different to my experience. I have never yet come across a wild Brown Tree Snake that has bitten or made a serious attempt to bite me and have never yet caught an Eastern Brown that couldn't be tailed and wouldn't settle down on the hook. Maybe I have just been lucky over the years....


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## Serpentes (Sep 29, 2009)

Spent last couple of weeks up between Mackay and Mossman herping, came across 6 brown trees on the road (and a few others hiding away) and each one on the road struck at me when I got out of the car to perve on it- but not so the ones that weren't on the road and kinda nervous already. Eastern browns are the snake I least like to catch (used to do it for fun until I grew up a bit) and the one I have been closest to getting nailed by, so far. They do settle down on the hook but I find them fairly reactive on first encounter, in contrast to Taipans who often have a, well, still possibly violent, but more contemplated response. But all that said, I've caught browns that don't go spanners, and one Taipan that went nuts as soon as I uncovered it- this one:


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## Firepac (Sep 29, 2009)

Nice catch.......bet it got the heart racing :lol:


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## Serpentes (Sep 29, 2009)

Firepac said:


> Nice catch.......bet it got the heart racing :lol:


I find the heart is OK, but I get sweaty palms sometimes! That not so good for holding elapids, especially when it's hot and you're out in the middle of nowhere  Here's another pic cos I'm a goddam showoff:


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## eipper (Sep 30, 2009)

I would watching the placement of your thumb serpentes...fangs will go straight through the bottom jaw!

Cheers,
Scott


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## Serpentes (Sep 30, 2009)

Yeah, that's my test photo, I appreciate the skill of anyone who picks the dodgy thumb placement!

To be honest it's not always easy to get everything right out in the bush, so I really prefer not to take the risks now days. I was trying to get a good shot of the snakes head (note my thumb is behind the jawline in the first pick but- it's those tiny slip-ups that matter).


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## eipper (Sep 30, 2009)

Not so tiny slip up with a Coastal..... if he had made you pay for it!

If you look on the underside of jaws on Taipans and most large Tigers..you can see where the fangs rest and even protrude now and then.

Cheers,
Scott


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