Finding Snakes and Reptiles

By Colin Jones | December 29, 2009

There are few places in the world that haven’t been colonised by snakes and other reptiles. Snakes are even to be found in cities, although it is only the friendlier ones that tend to survive human wrath. However, if you want to look for some of the more uncommon snakes, you could look in parks and fields, on beaches or in rivers and ponds and even in the sea, depending on where you live, of course as sea snakes are inclined to inhabit warmer, tropical waters.

You will need to be very alert and train your eyes to spot even the smallest movement. Wear clothes of dull, drab colours and move very slowly, stopping often to listen out for movement in the grass or bushes. In the beginning, you will have many false hopes, until you learn to differentiate between the sounds of the different animals that live or hunt in the grass.

Snakes are hard to locate, because most of the adventurous snakes get killed by frightened (and often ignorant) humans, but good advice is to look for relatively damp areas in arid regions and, on the other hand, dry spots in damp areas. Look for where their prey might congregate. For instance, near water for toads and frogs. Look out for frightened lizards or birds fleeing for their lives. And listen out for geckos warning each other of the presence of a predator.

If you have to disturb anything, at least don’t damage it and make sure you put it back as you found it. Two useful tools while out looking for snakes are binoculars (for tree snakes) and a snake-hook, which should also be used for moving bits of debris so that you don’t risk getting bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion. A camera, a torch and a notebook and pen are more or less essential, depending on how seriously you take your interest in herpetology.

You might also take a rule or tape to measure your specimens and a few plastic bags and boxes to hold them while you are doing it. However, do not harm anything and do not take anything away with you either! Besides it not being right to walk into their domain and cause mayhem, it is often contrary to the law too. Be very wary of picking up any snake that you cannot definitely identify as non-venomous. You could be miles from anywhere and will probably not have any anti-venom with you. Since many snakes can kill within 30 minutes, you would almost certainly die.

So, to summarize, go looking for snakes by all means. However, make your search calmly and wear inconspicuous clothing. Moreover, wear strong, climbing boots to give you some protection where you are most vulnerable and do not disturb anything unnecessarily. Take a snake-hook to move things if you have to; a tape, torch, camera, notebook and pen to record your experience and/or findings and a couple of clear plastic receptacles just in case you feel the need to pick something up.

I hope you really enjoy your search for snakes and other reptiles, but always remember that snakes are not friendly and they are certainly not pets, so be wary of snake bites especially if your search is not taking place in the grounds of a hospital!

If you are interested in snakes and reptiles, you ought to go over to our website called Caring for Snakes

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