Flaviemys purvisi
Very Well-Known Member
ABC Radio Hobart
By Georgie Burgess
January 31, 2019
This copperhead became stuck in a drink can near Tasmania's Seven Mile Beach.
Supplied: Reptile Rescue Incorporated
When all your senses are on your tongue, getting your head stuck in a can is quite a bother.
Reptile rescuer Chris Daly has this month saved three snakes from cans.
His latest callout came Thursday from tourists Sue and Ian Kevan Abdullah who discovered a stricken snake in the carpark at Seven Mile Beach.
The pair had returned from the beach and were shocked to encounter the distressed copperhead with its head stuck in a drink can.
"It was stressing out and wriggling its way all around the car park," Ms Abdullah said.
"I said straight away, 'we need to help it'."
The distressed reptile was discovered by some worried tourists who called for help.
Supplied: Reptile Rescue Incorporated
Mr Daly told Ms Abdullah to cover the snake with something to calm it down and keep it cool until he arrived.
Ms Abdullah said her husband wasn't a fan of snakes.
"He was horrified I'd put his jacket over the snake," she said.
"When we covered the snake, it stopped moving so it gave it some rest, but [my husband] said his jacket will never be the same again.
"It was an amazing experience."
A can-do rescue
Mr Daly said the snake was very distressed due to the heat and the loss of its senses.
"It can't sense anything. All its sensory organs are on its tongue and that's stuck in a can.
"Snakes don't like direct sunlight, and with your head stuck in a can it'd be like a big heat source."
Mr Daly cut the snake out with tin snips.
He kept the snake for observation because it cut itself on the can.
The snake was cut by the can but is expected to make a full recovery.
Supplied: Reptile Rescue Incorporated
The dangers of littering
The images of the snake should remind people about the dangers of littering, Mr Daly said.
"These are the ones we find out about. How many die a slow, miserable death?"
He said energy drink cans were more problematic because the drinking hole was larger than those of other cans.
Snakes were attracted to empty cans because they were looking for water or pursuing prey that had sheltered inside, Mr Daly added.
