The Joys of Spring and Summer in Aust - Nature not Haflinger

[AustHaflinger]

Well it is just starting to get warm here after a cold winter and the slithering things are coming out of hibernation.

My neighbour came around this morning claiming that a Brown Snake had been sunning itself on her front lawn and when disturbed and slithered over to my place.

Now these little fellow was about 4 foot long and is rated as the second most venomous snake after another Aussie gem. The Brown Snake is quite happy to live with humans and can be quite feisty but their one saving grace is that when they bite they will may only invenomate if it is prey or they are really threatened. They kill more people in Aust each year than any other snake. There have been 2 confirmed bites on the east coast this week.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_brown_snake

I will now have to be careful when I go out at night but it is probably still too cold for them at night just at the moment.

After looking to see where it was we heard some rustling in the leaves near where my Haflinger is parked which is also near my front door step. Now I usually have a big Blue Tongue Lizard that hibernates under the step and yep he is also out have a wander around looking for snails and bugs to eat - these are magnificent animals - so gentle as they mainly hiss at you and if they bite there is nothing to it.

The bushes in the background is where the Brown Snake is.

I know this is a Haflinger forum but I thought it some would be interested in some of the day to day issues some of us have to face in other parts of the world - of course in addition to the joys of having a Haflinger

Garry

[heinkeljb]

Now you will have to get another snake to go and find your brown snake as I don't think they have any other predators.

THen you only issue will be how to get rid of that snake!

Can you fumigate the bushes? I.E make a smoke gun with along tube you can stick in the bushes to drive the brown snake out?

Aren't we lucky in the UK then - only one venomous snake and they are few and far between now.

John

[AustHaflinger]

The brownie will move on as they are not territorial and go where the food and water are - he/she will be looking for mates and a drink this time of year as it has been a very dry winter with little water around.

Their primary diet is mice and rats so from that perspective that is good - maybe explains why I have no mice around my place.

Yes you are lucky about the snakes but your European Wasps are what scare me - they are here now and I constantly find the new queens hibernating in odd places during winter. Not been stung in Aust but when i lived in the UK I got stung a couple of times and was not a happy boy at all - at least in the city I can get anti venom for the snake but with the wasp you just suffer for weeks.

garry