snakesalive123
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- Dec 19, 2012
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Just thought I would report back - it is a carpet python!
It was not in the pen - we got a snake catcher out, he checked it throughly.
After I lost my hen (who was a huge full grown hen btw, it didn't eat her) my rooster removed the rest of his girls from the hen house at his own discretion, probably as horrified as we were that it had got a hen rather than a youngun', to the patio to sleep.
They were OK the first night, then last night we lost a two month old pullet (the very last of that hatch sadly - snakey ate/killed ALL six within two weeks). I was not sure the snake got that one, as they weren't penned I thought it could have been a cat. I mean, right on the patio outside the back door. I kept flicking the lights on to check them. My rooster moved his hens BACK to the pen! We hung up mothballs everywhere. :/
So this evening, I am sitting down when I hear this sound like a roll of unravelling aluminum foil. I sort of sit there for a moment processing it, and decide it's weird enough to go check. I'm still not sure where the sound came from when suddenly I hear screaming type cheeping from my five little baby chicks in what I thought was the last snake proof refuge around here, a chicken tractor with mesh about 2cm square. It's also on the patio.
I flick on the lights and there before me is the tail of at least a seven foot carpet python, hanging out of the chicken tractor where it had squished it's big fat body through one of the little wire gaps!!!!! argh!
Grabbed the torch and ran out, it's too late for the chick it has but I let the rest out and got them to safety inside.
It was easily as fat as my upper arm at it's fattest point and between 6 - 7 feet long, looked about right to eat a small pullet but not a large chicken though not far off frankly (I once saw a very small tree snake eat a whole possum). Looks like it could easily negotiate chicken wire, some aviary mesh should stop him/her though. Left as fast as it came - with the chicken.
I apologise to all the brown snakes I have been disparaging over the past few weeks, and thanks so much everyone for helping me with clues to solve my mystery! I understand carpets are territorial so I'll try not to have to relocate him, I'll just keep meshing until the pen is impregnable.... erk...
It was not in the pen - we got a snake catcher out, he checked it throughly.
After I lost my hen (who was a huge full grown hen btw, it didn't eat her) my rooster removed the rest of his girls from the hen house at his own discretion, probably as horrified as we were that it had got a hen rather than a youngun', to the patio to sleep.
They were OK the first night, then last night we lost a two month old pullet (the very last of that hatch sadly - snakey ate/killed ALL six within two weeks). I was not sure the snake got that one, as they weren't penned I thought it could have been a cat. I mean, right on the patio outside the back door. I kept flicking the lights on to check them. My rooster moved his hens BACK to the pen! We hung up mothballs everywhere. :/
So this evening, I am sitting down when I hear this sound like a roll of unravelling aluminum foil. I sort of sit there for a moment processing it, and decide it's weird enough to go check. I'm still not sure where the sound came from when suddenly I hear screaming type cheeping from my five little baby chicks in what I thought was the last snake proof refuge around here, a chicken tractor with mesh about 2cm square. It's also on the patio.
I flick on the lights and there before me is the tail of at least a seven foot carpet python, hanging out of the chicken tractor where it had squished it's big fat body through one of the little wire gaps!!!!! argh!
Grabbed the torch and ran out, it's too late for the chick it has but I let the rest out and got them to safety inside.
It was easily as fat as my upper arm at it's fattest point and between 6 - 7 feet long, looked about right to eat a small pullet but not a large chicken though not far off frankly (I once saw a very small tree snake eat a whole possum). Looks like it could easily negotiate chicken wire, some aviary mesh should stop him/her though. Left as fast as it came - with the chicken.
I apologise to all the brown snakes I have been disparaging over the past few weeks, and thanks so much everyone for helping me with clues to solve my mystery! I understand carpets are territorial so I'll try not to have to relocate him, I'll just keep meshing until the pen is impregnable.... erk...
