- When in remote areas, or where snakes are present, wear closed footwear at all times
- Use a stick or trekking pole to probe your way through long grass
- Wear long trousers or gaiters (or both) for maximum leg protection
- Always carry three snake bit bandages and be well practiced in the First Aid treatment before ‘reality bites’
- Consider snakes eat animals such as frogs and mice, not human legs. Keep your campsite clean of rubbish and food scraps, therefore attracting less critters that snakes may like to eat
- Do not try and catch snakes unless you’re qualified to do so
FACTS ABOUT SNAKES
- We have about 20 species of snakes in Australia that are dangerous to humans. They all belong to a family called Elapid, which means they all have fixed front fangs & these two canines are the only teeth producing venoms
- Fortunately for us, these Elapids have fangs with an average of 5mm. In very large snakes, it is longer, for example a 2 metre king cobra can have fangs up to 12mm in length
- Most snakes don’t have true hypodermic fangs, but they are so close to being hollow that their deliver system is nearly as good
- The face that they can all bite a flat surface means when they strike, they open their mouth up very wide to ensure a strike on their target. – But the snap their mouth shut on first contact with the target. This means for us they will often bite our trousers, clothing, boots or gaiters rather than our legs. This is the reason long furred cats and dogs attacking snakes often do not get envenomed
- There is no such thing as an aggressive snake – they are all acting in defense
- 90% of the approximate 3000 bites per year n Australia are on people trying to catch the snake
- 90% of those bites are on hands or feet. 7% are treading on snakes and the other 3% is made up of putting hands in the wrong place or sitting on them
- 90% of snake bites do not require anti venom because the snake is striking in defense, which is when they will ‘hang on’ to their prey
- The pressure and immobilization bandaging treatment is extremely effective. Treat all bites as serious
This information has been offered by Bob Cooper, an Australian expert in reptiles and outback survival.
NB: These guidelines are relevant for Australian snake species and are intended as guidelines only.