Snake handler reveals the 10 suburbs where you’re most likely to encounter a snake

A snake handler is warning residents near housing projects to “look out and love” their reptile neighbours. He listed the city’s top 10 suburbs for displaced snakes.

A LOGAN snake handler is warning residents near housing projects to “look out and love” their reptile neighbours.

Glenn “Ozzie” Lawrence, Logan’s answer to Steve Irwin and one of the city’s few licensed snake handlers, said he was concerned about a spike in wildlife deaths near new housing estates.

The Park Ridge and Chambers Flat local, who grew up in Logan, said those with herpetophobia, or fear of reptiles such as snakes, should be cautious on undeveloped blocks of land bordering new estates.

Glenn 'Ozzie' Lawrence from OzCapture Snake Relocation with python caught in the Berrinba industrial area. Picture: AAP Image/Richard Walker

He listed the city’s top 10 suburbs for displaced snakes.

Heading the list was Park Ridge, which until recently was mainly acreage lots, bordering the well-established suburbs of Crestmead, Regents Park and Boronia Heights.

That was followed by Chambers Flat, Logan Reserve, Yarrabilba, Flagstone, Greenbank, Jimboomba, Bahrs Scrub, Munruben and Tamborine.

“In my short, but busy, experience in snake relocations in Logan, I’ve found the suburbs which immediately surround areas that have been cleared over the past two years contain significantly higher volumes of many different species of snakes,” he said. “The much older suburbs such as Logan Central, Marsden and Kingston have significantly lesser amounts of displaced animals.”

During his career as a snake handler, Ozzie said his company, OzCapture Snake Relocations, had found hundreds of animals injured or dead on the side of the road and had recently rescued some hit by cars.

“In the past five months, we’ve conducted more than 100 rescues and snake relocations in Logan alone,” he said.

“With the growth in housing development, there is an increase in traffic in the area and these animals are losing their habitat and their food source at an alarming rate.

A python is relocated after it was caught in the Berrinba industrial area. Picture: AAP Image/Richard Walker

“This is when they are forced to go on to roads, into people’s houses and businesses and other environmental areas creating massive disruption to an already established ecosystem.

“Keelback snakes will help clean up the menacing cane toads because they eat them.

“The big old Coastal Carpet Python will gladly move in and clean up any rats or mice free of charge.”

Anyone who stumbles across a displaced snake, should move slowly and not touch the animal before calling a licensed snake handler.