Snake mating season benefits from South Coast's warm wet summer

According to the professionals, the mating season for snakes has been, and continues to be, very successful this year.

Steve Sass, an ecologist at Envirokey on the NSW South Coast, said fires then this summer's rainfall has meant more snakes are out feeding, having been displaced by the burnt areas. Therefore, they're also enjoying more opportunities to find a mate.

"The open spaces in some (burnt areas) of the forest is a good hunting ground for snakes," Mr Sass said.

"This summer snakes are breeding very well but we're going to see more next year."

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Reptile rescue and relocation man Phillip Sproates agreed, adding that there are more red-bellied black snakes around than tiger or brown snakes.

Mr Sproates has come across several snakes mating and said it is sometimes difficult to determine the difference between snakes fighting and mating.

But there's a crucial difference, Mr Sproates explained. A pair of mating snakes make an entwining pattern whereas a pair of fighting snakes will entwine while trying to pin each other down.

"At the moment the snakes are in a breeding mood, about now is when they will go into a hide. Brown snakes lay eggs but black snakes and tiger snakes have live young.

"This is the time of year when they give birth so to speak - around now until the end of February," Mr Sproates said.

Snakes about to give birth, he said, can become very aggressive.

Over winter is when snakes will go back into hibernation, using opportunities of warm weather to re-emerge for some hunting and then returning to their hide until the weather warms up again.

But, Mr Sproates warned, not all snakes go into hibernation. In fact some snakes will move into people's homes over winter.

"They move where the mice do to keep warm and hunt their prey - this can be anywhere from in your hay shed under a wooden pallet to where the poultry is," Mr Sproates said.

Snakes can live under pot plants, at the base of a tree, or in a hole beside your house.

"Snakes can live just about anywhere they can hide themselves," Mr Sproates said.

Mr Sproates shared a couple of personal anecdotes from his time as a snake catcher that might prove helpful for locals.

He recounted a story where a small black snake had made its way into a car in the underground parking of Woolworths in Merimbula.

He warned that snakes can disappear into modern cars and even a professional can't get them out.

"He disappeared, in the cars today you have so many voids and little places where they can hide it was impossible to find him after that," he said.

Mr Sproates advised that if a snake makes its way into your car, then it is best to park the car somewhere away from noise in some long grass and the snake should very likely leave.

Unsurprisingly, Mr Sproates has copped it from the reptiles he looks to relocate.

In early November 2020 he had been called out to retrieve a black snake that had slithered inside an air-conditioning unit near Candelo.

However, he had not been made aware the household's pet dog had aggravated the snake beforehand.

Mr Sproates admitted he had been more complacent than normal and ended up with a nasty bite to one of his fingers.

"He managed to give me a full dose of venom. Normally if the dog had not harassed him he possibly would have only given me a dry bite, this time he was upset and he let me know," he said.

Mr Sproates warned the bruising of a snake bite can be serious but worse was the risk of infection.

It was infection from this particular bite that saw him hospitalised for three days and losing the tip of his finger.

He explained that snakes can have little bugs in their mouth.

"They don't brush their teeth," he said with a laugh.