Hotter weather means snakes are about

With warm weather sweeping across the Central Coast and even hotter days on the way, professional snake handlers are warning the public that snake season has well and truly arrived.

As temperatures rise, snakes are emerging from brumation earlier than usual and will be out and about looking for food, sunbaking, and searching for a mate.

The federal health agency, Health Connect, which helps coordinate snakebite data across the country, states that Australia is home to 20 of the 25 most venomous snakes in the world. While not all snakes are venomous, it can be hard to identify snakes.

In Australia, about 1 in 3 hospital visits for snake bites are from brown snake bites.

The official advice states that all snake bites must be treated as potentially life-threatening. If you have been bitten by a snake, call triple zero (000) and ask for an ambulance.

Here on the Central Coast, Australia Reptile Park Manager and snake expert Billy Collett is urging people to be vigilant and proactive this season.

“Don’t become a statistic,” Collett said.

“The majority of snake bites that happen in Australia are from people who don’t know what they’re doing, trying to catch them.

“If you see a snake whether you think it’s venomous or not, treat it as venomous and never approach it, call a licensed snake catcher instead.

“Snakes don’t go out of their way to hurt people, but if they feel threatened, they will defend themselves.”

With warmer days drawing snakes into suburban areas, the Australian Reptile Park advises households to keep grass short and lawns well maintained, remove debris, tin, or wood piles, which can act as “snake hotels” when heated by the sun and avoid clutter in backyards that creates safe hiding spots for snakes.

If the worst happens, knowing snake bite first aid could save a life.

The correct steps are to keep the bite victim calm and as still as possible, remove any jewellery from the limb, apply a pressure-immobilisation bandage over the bite site three times, then bandage the entire limb and call an ambulance immediately or get to the hospital as quickly as possible.

“By applying a pressure-immobilisation bandage, the venom cannot easily spread through the body, buying the victim more time to reach lifesaving medical care,” Collett said.

Each year, the Australian Reptile Park’s antivenom program saves an estimated 300 lives, as the Park remains the only facility in the world milking terrestrial Australian snakes for venom.

This venom is supplied to CSL Seqirus, who produce lifesaving antivenom used in hospitals nationwide.

“Education is just as important as antivenom in saving lives,” Collett said.

“If Australians take basic precautions and know what to do in an emergency, we can dramatically reduce the number of serious snake bite cases this season.”