# HELP ! finding snake . southern highlands N.S.W



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

*Published:* 
*Source:*

*Hi all *
*we have a very big problem here , on friday we had a brown snake that was taken by a handler , and then early this mornin we find our cat biten by a snake and dead ... this cat never leaves the yard and i only let her out at 4.30 am this morning and rigourmortus had not set in when i found her at 8.30,it seems as if she had just dropped dead right there, her toungue has two sets of punchers very close together , her tongue blue and swollen and a small amount of blood ... im positive it was from a snake ,and from speaking to the vet. we have a large amount of pets and children here. i can not afford to have a venomus snake here being so close to the house and in our yard ! we are going to start eliminating where it could be , any surgestions or comments are appreciated or even any help if you are local ! *
*regards freesia *


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

what sort of snake might have a 6mm bite between fangs ?


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

what range would a brown or tiger have from its nest?? any idea how long it would take for a cat to die from a bite fom brown or tiger. that is a healthy large cat about 5 yrsold.


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

is smoking under the house with a smoke machine totall silly? would it work?? its not real smoke, could the snake tell,, were a bit desperate at the moment haha


----------



## hodges (Oct 5, 2008)

freesia said:


> what sort of snake might have a 6mm bite between fangs ?



Tigers have around 3mm fang size. And eastern browns fangs are roughly 2mm+ in length.


----------



## Ned_fisch (Oct 5, 2008)

Get a Snake catcher to come out and do a bit of a search around the yard and say that your cat has passed on after being bitten by a Snake, the Snake catcher will understand.


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

is that 3mm distance between the two fangs??


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

looking at the ground, its been disturbed less than a metre from where she layed ! so whats the chances of it still being just there somewhere ?


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

the snake catcher has already been spoken to this morning he only could tell us that it could be anywhere at any time ...


----------



## cement (Oct 5, 2008)

Where abouts are you?


----------



## Barno111 (Oct 5, 2008)

Mate if your not too worried about snakes i would have just have a general look around, If you have kids mainly were abouts the will be and around. Just be carefull lifting things up to have a look because you might get a nice surprise when you lift up abit of wood to find a ready to strike brown looking at you. If you have a good look around call in a snake catch usally they will be able to find it and tell you the all clear. Cant say what type of snake it is. But be prepeared for a aggressive one! apart from there isnt really anything else i can say! hope you find it!


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

with the amount of animals and children here i can not just leave it ... the handler is not willing to come and help .
we are in hill top


----------



## junglepython2 (Oct 5, 2008)

Clean up any junk or long grass around your yard, even if you remove the snake it will not stop others from moving through.


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

yes thats what we are doing , clearing everything out then thats only under the house left !


----------



## KaaTom (Oct 5, 2008)

You willmost probably find that it has taken off back into bush as they are more scared of you than we are of them. Is there any chance your cat may have even chassed the snake hence it striking out and getting her??? Have a really good look around the place and be really careful....


----------



## Ramsayi (Oct 5, 2008)

For the cat to be bitten on the tougue suggests that the cat was doing what cats do.The snake was just defending itself.

The best suggestion has already been given,clean up the yard and keep any grass short and educate the kids.Is there anyway you can snakeproof the underside of the house? ie small wire mesh to stop any snake getting access to that area?


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

the problem is that we think it happened at the front of our house as the direction the cat was laying in was not as though she had come from the shrub side of the yard, the scrubby bush is fair way from us , the snake we found on friday was in the dog (five dogs) yard right over the otherside and it was very large aggressive brown ... so if the cat never went out of the yard ... and any mice attracted to the other animals , ferrets - rabbits - ducks - birds etc . the snake just cant get back to the bush easy and with all this food here why would it . we have to find it and then snake proof the property .


----------



## waruikazi (Oct 5, 2008)

Freesia, you really need to relax a bit, snakes are not evil things that are out to get pets and children. You will never be able to snake proof your yard but like has been said you can take intelligent and common sense measures to reduce the likelihood of a snake setting up home in your yard. Remove anything it could hide under or in like corrugated iron and long grass from the immediate area around your house and you should be right. 

It is sad to hear about your pet but the fact that it got your cat means that your cat was hunting it. A snake wont stay in the same place that a predator which nearly killed it was. Next thing is that you need to educate your kids on what to do if they see a snake, which is simply if it is safe to just walk away or if it is not yet safe to wait standing still until it is safe. Whether you teach them about snake bite 1st aid is upto you but it would be a good idea but snake safety is more important. 

If you do find a snake in your yard it is unlikely to be the same one that got your cat and please don't kill it. That is a perfect way to get yourself bitten and does not give a good message to your kids. If you tell them to leave them alone, but then see you doing the opposite it is likely that they will try and do what they saw you doing instead and get hurt. 

My advice in this situation is leave your yard as it is for the next couple of days before you start cleaning up so the snake can go away just in case the snake is still there. Wear some good shoes and long thick pants when you do go into your yard to clean up. If you do see another snake stay a safe distance from it, don't try to interact with it in anyway, make sure either you or someone else is watching the snake and call a licensed snake relocator.


----------



## eipper (Oct 5, 2008)

Freesia,

Chances are if its a Brown you have buckley chance of finding it now, They are cruising at this time of year. No Australian snakes have "Nests" some will utilise the same cover on repeated occasions during movements arounds it home range but not a Nest if you will.

The distance between the fangs is dependant on the size of the snake, the size and width of the head, the angle of which the head was at the strike so the width between fangs is not really helpful.

I remove snakes from yards and from what you are saying it could be a number of species (Southern Highlands have about 7 species that could kill a cat) some of which are lethal or near lethal to humans.

I suggest that you clear up your yard and beneath the house (do it carefully as spiders will be in the rubbish and also a possible snake). Snake proof if it really bothers you that much. Teach your kids what to do if you see a snake and snake bite first aid.

From what I have gathered from your messages on the topic you have a number of animals which eat grain/seed products. You will be attracting mice, mice in their movements leave scent trails which are then picked up by hunting snakes. If you don't want snakes make sure that both your grain containers and the animal pens/cages are mouse proof as well.

Good Luck,

Scott Eipper


----------



## Rainbow-Serpent (Oct 5, 2008)

Call a snake catcher, they could probably find it, until then, supervise all of your children and animals.


----------



## wokka (Oct 5, 2008)

The general activity of dogs and children will discourage any snake, so as long as your children dont follow the example of your cat by tormenting any passing snake all should be fine. Educating the kids will probably be more benefit than attempting to snake proof your yard.


----------



## freesia (Oct 5, 2008)

thank you for your help ! lets hope the other 4 cats etc ... dont come across it .


----------



## GSXR_Boy (Oct 5, 2008)

freesia said:


> thank you for your help ! lets hope the other 4 cats etc ... dont come across it .


 
Perhaps keep them indoors???


----------



## Bonustokin (Oct 5, 2008)

GSXR_Boy said:


> Perhaps keep them indoors???



Exactly... Bet ya the snake dies a slow painful death from the infected area where the cat scratched/bit it.... Aswel as all the other native wildlife the cat has got its thilthy claws onto... :|


----------



## Slytherin (Oct 5, 2008)

Let's not get into the cat debate again people, its already been done to death and I think everyone got the message.

Best advice as others have said, call the snake catcher tomorrow, until then, keep children and animals inside. I hope all goes well and you feel relieved.


----------



## freesia (Oct 6, 2008)

with five dogs five cats and 19 ferrets here ... the snake was asking for trouble !


----------



## smidson (Oct 6, 2008)

I am not sure if this will help or not and cant say wether it actually works but i saw a snake reppellent in the local pet supply store a couple of weeks ago apparently you just put it around the perimeter of your yard and it stops them comeing in as i said though i couldnt say weather it works or not might be worth looking into though
Scott


----------



## Bonustokin (Oct 6, 2008)

> with five dogs five cats and 19 ferrets here


Thats enough snake food to last quite a while.... no wonder you have snakes hanging around


----------



## Dipcdame (Oct 6, 2008)

Sorry to hear of your sad loss, sudh a sad waste of a lovely animal. I've heard that if you lant geraniums around the property, it deters snakes, that's what they say, and do in the surrounding country areas here where browns are encountered. Hope it helps


----------



## Sturdy (Oct 6, 2008)

personlly i wouldnt point a finger to say it was only a snake that bit your cat...

a funnel web could also have done it.


----------



## lynfrog (Oct 6, 2008)

*re venomous snakes*

i live in a country area, have browns and carpets around the house. we just leave all be and so far noone has had any trouble. the cat is the most likely to get bitten- because she will hunt them.(small ones) we have budgies, chooks, chicken breeding boxes etc. the above advice is the best , and is what we all shoulld do anyway in country areas- prevention the best way. ie clear up rubbish, keep the grass kept short, and be AWARE of the possibility of a snake when moving things in theyard, or gardening etc. 
i practice live and let live... and it has worked well for 14 years so far.
kids do need to be clear about what to do in the event of a snake- but remember the snakes arent out to get us, and would like to be left in peace!


----------



## shane14 (Oct 6, 2008)

sad to hear.......


----------



## freesia (Oct 7, 2008)

Bonustokin said:


> Thats enough snake food to last quite a while.... no wonder you have snakes hanging around


 

what do you feed your snake cats and dogs ?


----------



## freesia (Oct 7, 2008)

Sturdy said:


> personlly i wouldnt point a finger to say it was only a snake that bit your cat...
> 
> a funnel web could also have done it.


 
thats right but the vet said it was snake bite ...


----------



## JasonL (Oct 7, 2008)

Funnel Web venom really only effects primates anyway.


----------

