snake catcher

Here is a bit of footage i took of the guys mucking around. ..........................Well, I am still trying to make it work..

Shade cloth is used very effectively as a snake barrier for vulnerable areas, Stretched tight and checked regularly it can be used around kennels, stables and bird aviaries. I think this the best way to avoid confrontations with snake, as opposed to fighting them, So I thought Id add a video that i made of the local snakes to the Mornington peninsula where I live.. Enjoy. Copperhead, whitelipped whip and tigersnake

I cant see the pics Sandra, please email them to me. where abouts are you in Queensland,? Rough scaled snakes and even harmless keelbacks can look similar to tigersnakes and may be more common in your area. If i could see the pics it would make it easier.

Some dogs are smart like that but a lot of the time the dog can not tell the difference between one reptile and onother. So i usually advise trying to make a snakeproof enclosure, coutyard, ... area and if you live in a snakey area,,like Australia, then at least you can feel secure about your dogs not coming into contact with them. But the best thing is to teach the dog not to attack, but just alert you. Seems you have unwittingly done this already and any tips you can supply relating to what you did could come in handy.

I hate being called out to a snake and finding it has killed the family pet. In feb this year i was called to a place in Rosebud Victoria and the guy had his pet staffy that had died and it was still on the couch and this guy was so grief striken, He was in his 30s and shared a house with his mum. and his mum was worried about his mental state ect.. After a short walk out the back i found the tigersnake that had killed the dog on a track that led to the beach. It was also dead and pretty mangled. So basicly, there must have been a hell of a fight and both the animals were mortally wounded. The snake was not actually on the property and if the dog had been contained, or trained,the tragedy could have been averted. If your dog is in the habit of killing or harrassing a bluetongue lizard,or even if it has just attacked one, then its chances of being bitten are hugely increased. Every callout i have been to involving snakebite to a dog has been because the dog has attacked a snake. Dogs can be trained not to attack snakes if are not against the use of the remote control pulse collar and a pet bluetongue or pet snake.

i have been out to quite a few snakes in the last month and im predicting that that with this weather the way it is we will see our fair share. If anyone sees a snake and they dont want it there they really need to ring their local catcher. A lot of people just kill them but this in itself is iilegal and dangerous. If anyone needs any more snake related information, dont hesitate to contact me. There is a phonenumber at the bottom of this news article from last week. Snake Catcher Article

Yes Linda I know Ross through the snakes.Nice guy.Who are you on F/B? This is me.. News Article

Thanks, Cooper was born with a deformity in his shoulder which was operated on when he was young, he also has a missing pad under his foot. The poor bugger, when i saw how skinny and scared he was my heart melted....and that never usually happens to me, so i arranged for him to meet Jack in a park in Frankston. The two dogs hit it off well and have been bff ever since. Jack needed another dog to interact with to so the timing was perfect.

Havnt been here for a while but Id like to share some pics of my two dogs. Hope they work. Cooper is an American Bulldog anwe have had for a week now after rescuing him from a bad life. he is only 1.5 yrs and very gentle. Jack is a Kelie/ridgeback/amstaaff. About 5.5 yrs. Pics are to big..here is a f/b link to an album.. My link

Great advice

How do they know it was the same snake? They live in Cairns so i think there is more than one snake capable of scaring the poor little dog. Newspapers are loving snakes at the moment.

Yesterday, I had to go to the pound in Pearcedale here in Victoria. Beautiful caring people work there and my wife and i had a walk through and looked at the poor buggers in the cages there. Pounds pup will be our next dog.

Poor tiger snakes cop a bad rap. They are no where near as bad as some people might have you believe. I have been working with these animals for many years now and i am yet to find an aggressive tiger snake. Like copperheads, they just want to be left alone. I am a bit biased i spose, as i keep a few tigers as pets and they are very endearing once you get to know them.. It is a myth they are aggressive, in fact they are commonly used in displays and snakeshows because they are so good to work with. In the old days snakehandlers and showmen would use tigersnakes for the show and many of these showmen would say how dangerous and aggressive they were to try to make the show more interesting and make themselves look like heros. It was these guys that have perpetuated the tigersnake myth.

That is a copperhead snake kirislin. Very common, venomous, shy snake. Not dangerous unless it is scared. Red bellied blacks are shiny jet black on top with red side scales and a white belly. Copperheads can be very dark brown on top with reddish orange or cream coloured side scales and yellowish belly scales. Both these snakes are cannibals and actively eat other snakes.

When you see a snake and if your calling a snake catcher, the best thing is to keep an eye on the snake till your catcher gets to your place. Once you take your eyes off it the snake will disappear. They can vanish into a tuft of grass and this will make capture a lot harder. Yesterday i had to go to my local rspca pound in Pearcedale to pick up a young copperhead. The good and caring people there had already caught the young snake and it was in a chinese food container when i arrived. I congratulted the young girl who caught it and told her she had done well. I found out later that she had been reprimanded by her boss for getting to close to it. Well, i think she's a little hero anyway. The article in this instance is not to bad.The media love to sensationalise snake bite and here they used the words snake attack. I believe snakes dont attack people or dogs, but the bites that occur are when a snake is in fear and defending itself. If anyone has snake related questions, please dont hesitate to ask me. Cheers

QUOTE (snake catcher @ 1st Mar 2010 - 11:14 AM) QUOTE I might be showing my legal ignorance here but ,if the fence was built by you, then wouldnt the hole in the fence be your responsibility. It could be argued in court maybe that the fence was yours and so is the hole that led to the bandaged foot of next doors dog. Im no legal expert but I think the laws relating to fences and fencing issues are full of grey areas and loopholes.

Was the neighbour involved in the building of the fence or any of the cost?

Aww, poor Mr Brown, you dont need to worry, you can drink snake venom but if it enters your bloodstream then you know about it. Mammals that eat snakes always eat the head first. As long as the fangs dont pierce the skin or gums the venom wont have much effect. What does this mean persephone?

Hi ravyk you said This is true, i was generalising a bit, but a good thing to remember is that, like dogs, snakes temperments can and sometimes do change after they hit certain ages. Nowadays there are a many places that do courses in snake relocation. When the licencing came in (early to mid 80s) the dse asked me if i would like to teach people how to do it. I declined because my methods were not suitable to be taught in my opinion. Im a bit to hands on and I could never teach someone to do it like i do. Spewing now, I could be raking in the moolah. I dont like 'snake tongs' and have never used them. Most places teach newbs to use them but they require a special touch that comes from experience. They (tongs) break the fine ribs in the snakes and after release, the snake may live for a couple of weeks before succuming to septecemia caused by the infection. Lots of people running around with 'tongs and a certificate' to catch has meant the death of many of our beautiful snakes. Find someone that will teach you to relocate with out the use of these horrible back breakers. The cost of the courses is usually about $300 to $500. Cheers

Nah jack only has the three breeds in him. The colours come from the kelpies,the body shape is ridgeback i think and the head has the amstaff look about it. So no rotty and no dobe in him.

Thanks Dyzney, i appreciate the sentiment there. Quit often, when I get called out to a snake, the snake is already in pain from being hit with a shovel, attacked by a dog or cat, or it is caught in bird netting which is cutting into it. Because we are a registered shelter ,we are able to keep the animals untill they have recovered from their injuries. If the patients are to far gone they are euthanised. The snake in the video was released after two minutes of filming and it certainly looked very healthy as it moved. I need to see them move to make sure they are ok. In some cases bones are broken along the back and this will affect my decision on what i do with it. Sometimes i have to make it defensive so i can see that it is in good enough nic to be able to survive. I wonder if the people saying the snake was distressed have seen what happens in an abbatoir,or a chicken farm,pig farm or just plain real life for that matter.

Thanks GeckoTree, he's a beautifully tempered dog to and now I have trained him to leave the chooks alone life is a bit easier around here. He went through a phase of chicken plucking but he's over it now. We have a leash free park around the corner from here and thats where he has a run with other dogs,he is well known there to.

Hey, I didnt know it had a name until yesterday Edslaine. I am loving this site and the info in the archives is awesome. This link will tell you as much as i know about "trancing" Slow Walkin'

Cool pic, caption could read " Why i outa......." Or "c'mere ya lil ....."

Jack is at my feet as I type this. He has a blanket there and a toy.