Red-bellied black snake

I don't mind snakes at a distance, but not at my back door, especially as I rarely wear shoes. So I got a bit of a start this morning when I nearly trod on a Red-bellied black snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus, one of the most common snakes in Australia (not that there's anything wrong with it). Of course, once he got a look at my ugly mug he was more scared of me than I of him.

This critter's venom is described as 'strongly haemotoxic; cytotoxic'; there is no record of anyone actually dying from the bite of one, but it will give you a very nasty suck.

It's a diurnal snake, usually found around streams, swamps, lagoons and similar restaurants serving its preferred tucker, frogs. Its diet also includes lizards, birds, mammals and some fish, even other snakes, but very rarely almanackists. Of course, almanackists who have a fishpond outside their door, with one fat goldfish and an equally chubby frog, might as well hang a 'We Speak Snake' sign on their door.

Today is now Clean-up Leaves Day around The Ponderosa.

"This snake is dangerously venomous but bites are rare because it is usually a placid and fairly docile snake, preferring to enact a lengthy bluff display with flattened neck and deep hisses rather than bite. It grows to a length of 2.5 metres, and is a very distinctive snake because of its simple and unvarying coloration. The upper surface of this snake is glossy black while the belly is light pink to brilliant red." Source

Distribution (Queensland Museum)

Large photo of Red-bellied black snake
Photo of its fangs in skeletal view
What to do for bite of the Red-belly

Snake season is here again

Tagged: australia, snakes, reptiles