North Rocks family finds golden-crowned snake
The recent downpour is driving a rare species of “secretive” snakes into suburban homes.
Parramatta
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A North Rocks family got a shock when they discovered a brown snake lurking in their garage but a sense of relief washed over them when they discovered it was not the lethal kind sporting the same-coloured hues.
Australian Snake Cathers’ Sean Cade was called to the home on Monday night when the nocturnal golden-crowned snake was spotted hiding under a hoverboard of the Whitbread Place home.
Mr Cade said the 80cm snake, often mistaken for the dangerous brown snake, was seeking shelter from the rain at 9.30pm.
“It was a little wet so it was looking for something a bit drier,’’ he said.
“It’s pretty rare to come across them so often they’re so secretive and I think because of the wet weather and the rain, it upsets the balance.
“The golden-crowns are a nocturnal species so they’re generally pretty secretive so you often don’t come across them during the day … and at night time they come out and ambush lizards.’’
The golden-crowned snake is brown to grey above and pink below, with a yellowish crown-shaped marking on the head.
They live in deep forest and sandstone areas along Australia’s east coast. They are venomous but not dangerous and Mr Cade said it was best to avoid handling them.
Mr Cade released the snake back on to bushland at Bidjigal Reserve and warned more of its kind could be discovered after collecting another one from Northbridge, on the north shore, this week.
“It’s spring so all the snakes are out now looking for girlfriends. It’s usually the males, just like the human way,’’ he said.
Sydneysiders can also expect to see more reptiles pop up.
“Now that we’ve had a bit of rain some of the frogs and tadpoles will turn up because there’s going to be an abundance of food,’’ he said.
“As soon as it dries up and we get a bit of a heat it’s going to explode.’’
Cats can often harm golden-crowned snakes by injecting their saliva and spreading the potentially deadly bacteria in it.
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