Eastern Brown Snake Track

[Hairyman]

Below are the marks left by an Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) about 2m long
as it moved as fast as it could (away from me) over loose deco on a gravel road surface.
As the snake pushed against the loose sand for traction there was a 'white noise' type sound.
The direction of movementof the snake can be determined as sand is displaced in the opposite direction.

Ruler is 15cm

 

[lever]

Hi Hairyman,
Digging up an old thread here I know but I'm wondering if you know whether the EB snake has the ability to spit it's venom? Or if any other snakes in the south NSW region have that ability? Not been able to find an answer through some brief online searches.

Does anyone know the answer to the above?

Cheers

 

[Askew]

As far as I'm aware no Australian snake is able to spit it's venom. Eastern brown snakes are a definite no, they don't need to as they are dangerous enough as it is. Seems like a curious question, why do you ask?

 

[lever]

Just an anecdotal story I heard about. I have seen people wearing goggles when dealing with snakes before (in other countries) and wondered if that was a risk to us down under.

 

[Hairyman]

I have not heard of any spitting Australian snakes, however given the very high potency of many
Australian snake venoms getting it in your eyes say from cleaning it off a shoe or clothes and then wiping your
eyes could be a problem. I am no expert though ...

 

[Askew]

Don't try cleaning venom off shoes or clothes by wiping it off. Leave it to dry, even then it will remain potent so don't let the affected area near any cuts or grazes.
To remove the venom pouring boiling water over it should denature the venom. Rinsing with plenty of fresh water should work too by diluting the venom.
Best idea is don't get bitten in the first place. Brown snakes tend to be bad tempered so leave them alone, and don't make any assumptions about identifying a reptile. If you're not 100% certain about what it is treat it as potentially venomous.

 

[Walker]

We were on a walk a few decades ago down in south west Victoria (Great South West Walk) and an inland section followed a dirt road. Just ahead of us in the dappled sunlight we saw two streams of liquid squirting across our path. We thought it was some weird redirected spring. Two of the group wandered over to the long grass where it was coming from and were startled to see a big Tiger snake in its nest obviously very pissed off at our presence!
So yes, some snakes can apparently throw venom.