Camp Fire Chat # 2
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Picture #1a
Picture #1b
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Chapter VII of my book deals amongst other creepies with spiders, ticks and snakes and what to do if they get close-up and personal.
There is plenty of emergency procedures explained, which, if followed will give you the best chance to save a life, maybe even your own.
Ian Norton is Tasmania’s foremost expert on snakes and it was he I consulted when I wrote “The Trout Whisperer”.
Ian invited me recently to one of his field trips, where he and his team keep track of the beasties that can kill you.
So we went to a large swampland area in the north of Tasmania.
Swamp is swamp is swamp, and 4WD’s don’t particularly like it as you see on Pic #1. Bogged down to the axles, the driver wanted to remain anonymous, fat chance Simon, no good hiding behind Ian.
If you fish or camp near a swampy area like the one shown here in Pic #1a & Pic #1b you MUST be aware of snakes at all times. The first sign might just be a shed snakeskin Pic #2; this one was picked up by Maddy for her ‘show and tell’ on Monday morning. But don’t rely on snakeskins as proof that snakes are about or not. They’ll be there all right! A more reliable warning that snakes are about is the croaking of frogs. The “croak, croak” in snake language is “snack, snack”. So be assured that when that snake comes for the snack, the frog croaks it – every time. This beautiful spotted marsh frog in Pic #6 is just a ‘big Mac snack’ for a tiger snake.
As I discussed in my book, snakes are very temperature sensitive. On a cool day they are basking in the sun at noon, on a hot day they seek shelter at noon in the tussocks or rabbit burrows and only come out in the morning and evening, when the heat of the day is passed. Hunting takes place when the temperatures are most comfortable for snakes – and of course if it is hungry and that might be even at night, when you go out of your tent to have a pee.
The swamp Ian visits to study ‘HIS’ snakes, is the home of several hundred copperhead and tiger snakes. Ian and his team catch the snakes, measure them, weigh them, sex them (no they do not de-sex them) and believe it or not microchip them. Pic #4
Each time they catch a snake, they run the microchip detector/reader over it to see if it is already 'on their books’ so to speak. If it is, they update all relevant information, weight and length gain or loss etc. If it is a new snake, it will be sexed and microchiped as well. So far Ian has 219 Snakes on his books from THIS swamp alone, of which 186 have been re- captured, some several times. They call it ‘Processing’, it’s different to cooking and putting herbs and spices on them and garnishing them with garlic butter.
Part of ‘processing’ is also to ‘de-tick’ them. Funny how all those politically correct phrases require an explanation. Snakes often have ticks attached to them and these ticks are collected and sent to a hospital for processing. The hospital passes them on to the Australian National Reference Rickettsia Laboratory in Geelong Victoria. Ticks carry the debilitating Flinders Island Spotted Fever and research carried out at the Rickettsia Lab will ultimately support new treatment protocols to help sufferers to recover quickly. Pic #5 not only shows that snakes and blue tongue lizards cohabitate, but the brown spots around the lizards eyes are caused by ticks feeding on the lizard. The ticks were promptly removed and ‘bottled’.
The first four snakes we came across were copperheads. The copperhead in Pic #3 shows its copper coloured underside as it is held firmly down by the tools of trade. Be aware the colour can vary substantially, even in the same swamp.
Then the ‘big one’ was basking in the sun. He also showed ‘typical’ colours on his underbelly, but they to can vary substantially. He was “processed” and when released he was “not happy Jane” and showed it too. When you see a snake with its head raised and flattened body coming towards you (Pic #9 and Pic #11) it means business. It is time to consider freaking out and get out of the way. Ian showed us (Pic #10) that if you stay still, the snake will get on its way even though a few seconds ago it was thoroughly p!ssed off with it’s treatment. That’s easy for him to say for a start, he likes them and he wears solid rubber boots. I didn’t want to challenge him to put thongs on, as Nigel did in the book, in case I had to give him mouth to mouth resuscitation if things went the ‘tigers’ way.
Pic #7 shows a close up of the large somewhat bulky ‘tiger’ head. While Pic #8 clearly reveals the ‘business end” of the tiger snake. The fangs, the tongue and in the roof of his mouth, the Jacobs organ clearly visible.
Pic #12 and Pic #13 show the ‘tiger’ in full escape speed in the water. To avoid territorial conflict Ian releases ‘processed’ snakes where they are found.
Two people who bought my book wrote to me to tell me that the chapter on snakes, snakebites and first aid were very much appreciated and useful. G… from Victoria thought I “lost the plot” a bit, but hey, nobody is perfect. If only one person gets saved by reading The Trout Whisperer’s chapter VII first aid, the plot is worth loosing, don’t you think?
Besides your own safety, be mindful of the safety of your dogs in snake infested areas. Only fast veterinarian intervention saved one of my dogs some years ago from certain death, when a snake bit her. Since then I am paranoid when going bush that my Rottweilers find a snake an irresistible challenge. I never know how they might react. They might well win the battle, but loose the war.
When all is said and done, when fishing or camping near ‘snake snacks’ (frogs), snakes will drop in for a ‘take away’ even if they don’t live-in.
The more vegetation cover a swamp offers to snakes on hot and cold days the more likely it is that there will be resident snakes. Remember that your camp, be it a 4WD, a caravan, a tent or your waders will offer a snake a place to hide, to cool down or stay warm depending on its needs.
If there is food, there are snakes and you definitely want to know what to do if you or your mate are a bite victim. That’s where chapter VII comes into its own.
Good reading.
If you would like to contact me for comments or contributions click here: thetroutwhisperer@bigpond.com