most of the world's top 10 venomous snakes reside in Australia!
snakes in Australia are a protected species!
Australian snakes DO NOT seek out and attack humans (large pythons have rarely been reported to do so in Queensland with small children)
the venomous snakes are Elapids of which there are 90 terrestrial species which account for 57% of all terrestrial species in Australia, and the non-venomous pythons
1)Australian is home to over 130 species of the 320+ known species of Elapid snakes (including sea snakes)
all Australians and travelers to the Australian bush or coastal regions should know how to avoid and how to survive a snake bite.
snakes eat frogs, eggs, small mammals, lizards and even other snakes
Tiger snakes and Red bellied black snakes are mainly found near waterways
snakes are active when their body temperatures are between 28 and 32 °C and thus unless its really hot, they thermoregulate by basking in warm sunny spots in the cool early morning (eg. on your pathway) and rest in shade in the middle of hot days (eg. under a car or more usually in taller grasses and under bushes or rocks), and may reduce their activity in hot dry weather in late summer and autumn
cooler-climate species like to keep their bodies cooler still
in the northern parts of Australia, where temperatures are consistently warm, snakes avoid the harsh heat and are most active during early mornings, night time, and following the wet season (April to June)
in the southern parts of Australia, snakes go into hiding during the cooler months. They slow their metabolism to almost zero and essentially sleep (or “brumate”) through the winter (ectotherms such as reptiles brumate while endotherms such as bears hibernate). Sensing shorter days in winter keeps them asleep, preventing them from using fat stores or eating food they will not be warm enough to digest. That’s why even a warm sunny day in the middle of winter may not wake them up. A combination of daily temperatures and daylight hours in spring then triggers southern snakes to wake up and begin the breeding season. Tiger snakes only emerged from shelter once their bodies reached 16°C – provided it isn’t raining.
in general, the only time two snakes are in the same place is during courtship and mating. Otherwise the larger snake will usually kill and eat the smaller one
snakes can feel vibrations and hear loud low pitch sounds (below 600Hz - human voice is 100-250Hz, at least at 85dB such as a loud voice at 1.2m) but have trouble hearing higher pitched sounds
pythons seem to go towards sounds displaying curiosity
ambush predators such as death adders tend to move away from sounds presumably to avoid being stepped on
fast moving day time predators such as browns and taipans seem to display defensive and cautious behaviours, signalling potential avoidance behaviour from raptors
most snakes do NOT want to be seen by bigger animals like humans and other than when they warm up in the morning sun on paths and rocks, they will avoid open spaces
most snakes move silently - if you hear a noise in the undergrowth it is much more likely to be a lizard or another animal
snakes generally will try to make their way to their preferred escape route and last known safe haven, but sometimes they make poor choices when threatened and their eye sight is relatively poor - if a human is between them and their safe haven they may adopt a defensive raised posture to try to signal to you to get out of their way and then they will approach their safe haven which may appear they are chasing you but they are not!
if you approach and harass them they respond with a strike and a bite, although, fortunately, most are dry bites which do not envenomate - never try to catch a snake unless you are trained to do so - call a snake catcher!
snakes like to hide under shelters such as sheets of iron roofing, concrete slabs, piles of wood or rocks, etc - take great care when lifting these up.