By Namrata Pingle, edited by Raisa Sugandi

Snakes should be an unusual sight in Brisbane backyards at this time of the year but there has been an increase in the number of snake sightings despite of the winter weather is now kicking-in.

Kenmore resident Lucy-Ellen Steadman says she spotted a slithering reptile when she was driving home.

“I was driving home and I saw a really long figure on the road in front of my car and I didn’t realize it was snake at first but it was definitely a big diamond python about two metres long.”

The Queensland Ambulance Service has reported a total of 13snake-bite incidences this past month across the South-east Queensland region.
Pet-lovers are also exposed after an increase in snake bite fatalities and injuries amongst our fury friends.

Samford veterinary surgeon Brian Francis Sheahan says most people do not understand how urgent the situation can be.

“We’ve had five people live in five minutes of the surgery and had seen a dog beaten by brown snake and have died within five minutes and we heard others come in that had been beaten by brown snake or by red belly black snake that have shown quite mild signs then eventualy it got into trouble.”

Brisbane snake experts say the sudden increase in sightings and bites are unprecedented for cold-blooded creatures who usually spend the colder months hibernating.

Licensed snake catcher and founder of Brisbane’s Snake Catchers David Martin says the number of sighting is increasing due to the sudden warmer spots of weather.

“It’s not normal but we have some warm weather recently, so they’ve still been out and about and they still hide in roofs and under debris and stuff like that so, whilst they’re not active, you can still definitely come come across them.”

The Queensland Ambulance Service urges anyone who comes into contact with any snake to immediately dial triple zero and keep a safe distance.

Mr Martin says it is important to remain calm as not all snakes are venomous and deadly.

“The most common two snakes in south east Queensland I believe are carpet snake and green tree snake. If you can identify them those two you straight away they take a lot of worry off your mind because they both non venomousand quite safe. The carpet snake will definitely bite but it’s non venomous.”

Snake identification charts are available at snakecatchers.com.