April 2011
Much to the delight of some and to the horror (hear the shrieks!) of others, Dusty Jones the Snake Man came to speak at our March luncheon.
39 members, partners and friends attended the lunch at Kangaroo Valley Bowling Club.
It was a perfect setting with plenty of room for us and the snakes and we had an enjoyable lunch and other visitors to the club were entertained as well.
Dusty assured us he was not here to frighten us but was here to help. He has loved snakes since he was a small boy in England (snakes in England?) and has been in Australia for 40 years and belongs to a group NANA –Native Animal Network Association.
He loves Australian snakes too.
For $50 he will come to your home and remove a snake from inside the house or on the veranda and take it away.
He said the other day a lady phoned him to ask him to come and remove a black snake from her laundry.
Lucky he told her to keep away from it and shut the door.
It was a tiger snake- highly venomous!
He gave us advice on how to move a snake on from our gardens, not by killing it but by using a weapon close to hand i.e. a garden hose attached to a tap. He advised us to keep 5-10 metres away from the snake, turn the nozzle of the hose on to the strongest setting and from 5-10 metres away hose the snake’s head.
Then turn the spray to a softer setting and hose the snake all along its body encouraging it to move away in the direction you wish it to go. The snake is ectothermic-takes the heat from its environment- so does not like the cold water from the hose making it cold.
Snakes range over a territory of more than 2.5 square kilometres so you might see your snake again but just repeat the exercise.
Dusty told us to never go near a snake.
If you find yourself near one back off quietly and it will usually move off. If it is having a nice nap in the sun it might take a while but be patient.
He said never attempt to pick it up even by the tail and never attempt to kill it with anything.
He quoted some statistics. 2,000 people are bitten by snakes each year in Australia.
1700 of these are bitten accidentally e.g. on bushwalks.
270 are men who have decided to get a shovel or an axe or a gun and kill the snake.
The snake won.
If you are bitten. 1) Try to remember what the snake looked like. 2) Wrap a pressure bandage around the bite. Firm bandaging slows down the movement of the venom.
If you do not have a bandage rip up your shirt into strips and make one.
3) Try to stay as calm as you can. Don’t run. Panic or running causes the body to produce adrenalin, which stimulates the heart to pump the blood faster and thus pump the venom around your body faster. Slowing blood flow down allows the lymph glands under your arms or in your groin to deal with the venom before it gets to the heart. For years there have been many methods for dealing with snakebite. It is important to keep up with the latest first-aid techniques. No cutting the bite. No tourniquets. Tourniquets can cause more damage than good. Tourniquets are only used nowadays, if at all, to stop some-one bleeding to death. They have to be released every 15 minutes, which in the case of a snakebite can cause a rush of venom to the heart.
4) Seek medical advice as soon as possible. Antivenene is readily available. If you can stay put do so. Use a mobile phone if you can to call for help. Get other people with you to carry you or go for help. If you need to move stay as calm as you can and move as slow as you can.
This advice also applies to your pet being bitten. Seek advice from a vet. A tiger snake or eastern brown snakebite can kill a dog within 15 minutes.
However a red-bellied black snakebite makes your dog very unwell at first and with good treatment can be saved.
So if you come home and find your dog poorly contact the vet straight away.
Dusty brought some of his friends with him.
He reached into a bag and brought out a red-bellied black snake with which he demonstrated why you should not pick up a snake.
He had him by the tail, which makes the snake very angry. The snake instantly turned on itself and slid up its own body heading straight to his hand and arm. Of course as an expert snake handler he caught the head of the snake with his special hook but we could all see how quickly the snake reacted.
When a snake bites or ‘tags’ it happens very fast and it can easily bite through jeans. Dusty said the red-bellied black snake was his favourite snake because they are so calm and placid (except when you grab them by the tail apparently).
The snake looked very beautiful on the Bowling Club carpet. It was a perfect match. But we could see also that the snake was very keen to get away from us. Red-bellied black snakes eat other snakes even their own young. He showed us a photo of one eating an eastern brown snake, which is a bigger snake!
Dusty repeated - leave them alone and they will go away.
Dusty also showed us some beautiful diamond pythons. These are not venomous but will bite. He said if you get bitten by one of these, wait for it to release and put Betadine on the bite as long as you are sure you know it is a python. He said tiger snakes can have similar colours and markings but have definite stripes (like a football jumper).
The diamond pythons he showed us did not have stripes but diamond patterns.
Venomous snakes to be found in Kangaroo Valley include red-bellied black snake, tiger snake, eastern brown snake, Sydney broad-headed and a silver snake whose name I did not catch. Identifying snakes is not easy as they vary in colour especially after shedding their skin. Noting the length of a snake is usually helpful as well as the shape of its head. Tiger snakes are about a metre long.
The longest eastern brown Dusty has seen was more than two metres in length (at Falls Creek).
One of the valley’s dairy-farmers was in the audience listening to Dusty. Dusty acknowledged that Bob might have a different view of snakes to himself and that Bob had many valuable animals to protect. Dusty said his advice was aimed at gardeners, bushwalkers and small landholders. However he said that snakes play a useful role in keeping down vermin especially rats, mice and feral cats and while a python may steal one or two eggs it is more likely to be the goanna or the fox who gets in the henhouse and eats all the eggs.When Dusty catches a snake he releases red-bellied blacks into the bush but tiger and eastern browns are released in specially designated areas away from houses.
Dusty does not keep pet snakes anymore but runs a snake hospital where he treats sick or injured snakes for about six weeks then releases them. Dusty pointed out that some children have no fear of snakes so they must be told never to pick them up or go near them.
Snakes love warmth and humidity. That is when they will be out and about. They stop moving about in the cold or when it is very hot.
But if you live near the bush or in the valley you are bound to see a snake or two and by keeping away, maybe stamping on the ground, warning children to keep away from them and keeping pets clear of them they will move away from us. They recognise us as not being part of their diet so have no interest in attacking us if we are keeping a distance from them. Everyone who came this event enjoyed listening to Dusty even if some were afraid of the snakes. His love of these animals made me want to try to love them too (until I see the next one).
Our next luncheon meeting will be at Kangaroo Valley Bowling Club on April 8 at 11.30 am for 12.00. Our guest speaker will be Simon Harrington who will speak on Anzac, the Kokoda Track and Gallipoli.
Please phone Jan Starkey on 4465 2080 or email jjstarkey42@bigpond.com by 6 pm on the Wednesday before the meeting if you are unable to attend.
It is necessary for us to provide the caterer with accurate numbers for our luncheon otherwise the club will be charged.
We invite and welcome anyone who is interested to attend our luncheon. Please phone Margaret McLachlan 4465 1946 for details.
Jeannette Dumbrell Publicity Officer