snake bahavior

Snake Behaviour Education

I hear alot of stories about how a "snake chased me" ALOT …. And I wanted to use the release of my Edgewater Dugite from the other day to show exactly what a snake does when it encounters something bigger than it .

1. It was curled up acting inconspicuous so I would just ignore it and walk away.

2. When I didn't do that , and moved and it thought I was moving towards him , it formed an S shape to look bigger and give me my first warning sign with a deep hiss …. To step BACK .

3. When it sensed my movement again …. It did an open mouth display and dropped forward (A DEFENSIVE CHARGE) to make me step backwards with a second warning , that this is what I can do, I'm being defensive (self- protective mechanism) , I'm warning you quite clearly not to corner me and I'm asking you to step back and you need to listen , I have fangs if you keep coming at me.

4. His final warning was as he dropped forward was the flattening of his head …. He's trying to look like a big guy, but he's backed off because I'm standing still but he is still making sure I'm no threat , he checked to see I wasn't moving and that he had space to move away safely from me and then he relaxed and turned to his left and slid away without any incident.

THIS display of behaviours, is common in brown snake species. They're reactive to anything bigger then them because they're a soft tissued animal and only a small percentage of these animals make it from egg to adulthood and they are fight & flighting to stay alive . They have simple but complex brains that can't differentiate what we are , to them ….anything bigger than them is a predator and a risk whether you're human , dog , horse, kangaroo etc .

This snake will give repeated warnings including a DEFENSIVE CHARGE (not chasing) for you to not corner it , something important to remember,

IF YOU STEP BACK AND GIVE THEM PLENTY OF ROOM …. YOU GIVE THEM ROOM ON EITHER SIDE OF THEM TO TAKE FLIGHT.

All any snake wants to do .

Biting you puts them at risk of injury from a large predator, they don't want to take that risk , a bite is their last option .

Stay safe people and enjoy our snakes , it's a privilege to see one