Snakes in Victoria

• see also:
  • Victoria and camping
  • Bushwalking
  • Bushfire safety

Snakes in Victoria:

• remember, nearly all snakes in Victoria are venomous - but they will only bite if handled, stepped on or harassed.
  • see also:
    • http://www.snakehandler.com.au/?pid=main&p=30 
  • you are more likely to die from allergic reactions to bee stings than from being bitten by a snake unless you walk around the bush drunk with bare feet.
  • most snakes are active day and night in the warmer months although the main dangerous snakes, the Brown Snake and Tiger Snake are diurnal - mainly only active during the day and on warm, humid nights.
  • Fortunately, their teeth are short (< 1cm) and appropriate thick clothing and footwear will usually prevent envenomation which only occurs in perhaps less than 10% of bites.
  • Watch where you are walking, especially near creeks and avoid long grass which obscures visibility without appropriate clothing and footwear. 
  • While some will be found basking in the sun on rocks, most Australian elapid snakes prefer to hide in holes and crevices and avoid exposure THUS avoid lifting up logs and rocks.
  • most Victorian snakes are non-arboreal elapids and usually only the non-dangerous pythons tend to dwell in trees therefore look down NOT up while you are bushwalking!
  • if bitten:
    • apply a firm bandage around the bite site and extend up the limb (not too tight that it cuts the blood supply off, you just want to stop the lymph draining)
    • splint the limb, do not exert yourself unnecessarily
    • do not try to capture or kill the snake (they are protected species and you will only risk getting bitten again)
    • do not drink alcohol or take drugs or medications
    • do not wash the wound or try to suck the poison out (doctors will want to use the bite site to determine which snake it was and what is the appropriate anti-venom to use if needed)
    • get to medical help as soon as possible without causing a car accident on the way (if you do the 1st aid measures, you will usually have at least a few hours to get to medical help - you should consider requesting ambulance help to transfer you, especially if you are in remote areas when an air ambulance option may be the best).
• the most common snakes to bite humans in Victoria are:
  • Common or Eastern Brown Snake Pseudonaja textilis - a fast and aggressive snake with good eyesight
  • Mainland Tiger Snake Notechis scutatis - mainly near streams; poor eyesight; so more likely to be trodden on than a brown snake; 
• other Victorian snakes:
  • see http://museumvictoria.com.au/DiscoveryCentre/Infosheets/Snakes-found-in-Victoria/Snakes-of-Victoria-/ 
  • Common Copperhead Australeps superbus  
  • Alpine Copperhead Australeps ramsayi - near streams in alpine regions 
  • Red-bellied black snake Pseudechis porphyriacus - large snake but not aggressive, often near creeks and rivers 
  • Little Whip snake Rhinoplocephalus flagellum  
    • 37yr old died suddenly after a bite on finger in April 2007 whilst looking for scorpions - presumably due to allergic reaction
    • a fast snake prefers woodlands, stony hills and usually found sheltering under rocks and logs.
  • snakes confined mainly to north-western regions of Victoria (eg. Mallee):
    • Western Brown Snake Pseudonaja nuchalis - fast, aggressive 
    • Master's snake Drysdalia mastersii - mainly Mallee 
    • Mitchell's Short-tailed snake Rhinoplocephalus nigriceps - mainly Mallee & north-central areas 
    • Bardick Echiopsis curta - mallee region 
    • Port Lincoln snake Rhinoplocephalus spectabilis  
    • Red naped snake Furina diadema - rare; usually assoc. with termite mounds 
    • Yellow-faced Whipsnake Demansia psammophis - fast snake; Murray River;
  • snakes confined mainly to northern Victoria:
    • Curl Snake Suta Suta - mainly in the Loddon, Avoca and Murray rivers region 
    • Bandy Bandy snake Vermicella annulata - rarely seen snake in northern areas; nocturnal; 
    • Blind snakes Ramphotyphlops spp - rarely seen snake in northern areas; non-venomous; nocturnal; 
    • Carpet Python Morelia spilota metcalfei - non-venomous; mainly nocturnal; northern areas; 
  • snakes confined mainly to south-eastern Victoria:
    • Diamond Python Morelia spilota spilota - non-venomous; coastal heaths of far east Gippsland 
    • White-lipped snake Drysdalia coronoides - eastern suburbs Melbourne & southern forests but rarely seen 
    • Small-eyed snake Cryptophis nigrescens - warm dry forests of south-eastern Victoria
    •