There are not many places in the world that haven’t been colonised by snakes and other reptiles. Snakes are even to be found in towns, although it is only the friendlier ones that tend to survive our wrath. However, if you want to find some of the more uncommon snakes, you could try in parks and fields, on beaches or in rivers and ponds and even in the sea, depending on where you live, of course as sea snakes are inclined to inhabit warmer, tropical waters.
You will need to be very alert and accustom your eyes to notice even the smallest movement. Wear clothing of dull, drab colours and move slowly, stopping often to listen for movement in the grass or bushes. In the beginning, you will have many false hopes, until you learn to differentiate between the noises of the different animals that live or hunt in the grass.
Snakes are hard to locate, because most of the adventurous snakes get killed by frightened (and often ignorant) humans, but a good tip is to look for relatively damp areas in arid regions and, conversely, dry spots in damp areas. Look for where their prey might congregate. For example, near water for toads and frogs. Look out for frightened lizards or birds fleeing for all they are worth. And listen out for geckos warning each other of the presence of a predator.
If you need to disturb anything, at least don’t damage it and furthermore, make sure you put it back as you found it. Two useful tools while out looking for snakes and other reptiles are binoculars (for tree snakes) and a snake-hook, which should also be used for moving bits of debris so that you don’t risk getting bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion. A camera, a torch and a notebook and pen are more or less essential, depending on how seriously you take your interest in herpetology.
You could also take a rule or tape to measure your specimens and a few plastic bags and boxes to hold them while you are doing it. Do not kill anything and do not take anything home with you either! Apart from it not being right to wander into their territory and cause them harm, it is frequently contrary to the law too. Be very wary of handling any snake that you cannot 100% positively identify as non-venomous. You could be miles from anywhere and will probably not have anti-venom with you. Since many snakes can kill within 30 minutes, you would probably die.
To summarize, go looking for snakes by all means. However, take it calmly and slowly and wear inconspicuous clothing. Furthermore, wear strong, climbing boots to afford you some protection where you are most vulnerable and do not disturb anything you don’t have to. Use a snake-hook to move things if you have to; a tape, torch, camera, notebook and pen to record your experience and/or findings and a few clear plastic receptacles just in case you feel that you have to pick something up.
I hope you enjoy your hunt for snakes and other reptiles, but remember that they are not friendly and they are certainly not pets and be wary of bites especially when your search is not taking place in the grounds of a hospital!
If you are interested in snakes and reptiles, you should go to our website entitled Caring for Snakes You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
categories: snakes,reptiles,herpetology,pets,hobbies,interests,animals,poison,blood,family,recreation,walking,outdoors,other
