Snake warning: Five bitten in busy start to snake season

THE family of a toddler bitten by a snake in Sunbury today had just moved into the area. Five people have been bitten since yesterday, prompting calls for vigilance ahead of what’s expected to be a busy snake season.

A TODDLER in Sunbury appears to be the latest victim of a series of snake bites that have left four people in hospital and prompted calls for vigilance ahead of what is expected to be a busy snake season.

Paramedics were called to treat the boy in Jersey Drive, 40km northwest of central Melbourne, at 1pm.

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An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said he was treated at the scene for leg injuries.

The boy was rushed to Sunshine Hospital for treatment, and remains in a stable condition.

The property in Jersey Drive, which is near Harpers Creek, was newly rented by the young family, neighbours say.

It has a large, fenced-off backyard.

The other four snake incidents happened across regional Victoria within a space of just four hours yesterday afternoon.

One man in his 80s was bitten on the leg in Nathalia, northwest of Shepparton, at 3.30pm.

He was in a serious but stable condition, an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said.

In other cases:

* A man in his 40s was bitten on the ankle in Coimadai, north of Bacchus Marsh;

* A man in his 60s was bitten on the leg in Whitfield in the King Valley; and,

* A woman in her 30s was bitten at Nar Nar Goon in Gippsland.

Mark Pelley said suburbs on the city’s fringe generally had a higher number of snakes. Picture: Mark Wilson

All were treated in hospital, the spokeswoman said.

The incidents follow a surge of snake sightings since the start of spring.

Melbourne’s Snake Hunter Mark Pelley has performed some unconventional rescue jobs and warned snakes were swarming across the suburbs.

In the past week his rescues included snakes in unusual locations, including:

* A boat cruising down the Yarra river;

* Next to a letterbox;

* Under a bed;

* Under a fridge;

* Behind a dishwasher

* In a shower;

* Beside a pool;

* On a tennis court;

* In a shop;

* In an office; and,

* At La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus (two tiger snakes).

A week earlier he captured a tiger snake that came face-to-face with an eight-year-old girl when it popped out of a toy box.

He said warmer weather brought the cold-blooded creatures out of their ‘brumation’ slumber and into residential areas in their hunt for food.

“The reality is Melbourne snakes thrive in suburban environments,” he said.

Mark Pelley with the 26 snakes he captured over four days this week. Picture: Supplied

“They’ve got a source of food, in mice and rats, a source of water and plenty of space to hide.”

He said the number of call-outs in the past few weeks had been “crazy” and he expected that would increase in the coming months as snakes started breeding.

“Come summer there is going to be an explosion of baby snakes everywhere,” he said.

Mr Pelley said Melbourne was home to some of the world’s most deadly species.

He said they posed a particular danger for curious children and pets.

While there was no way to predict where snakes would emerge, he said suburbs on the city’s fringe generally had a higher volume.

Some of the busiest areas he was called to were Craigieburn, Epping, Doreen, Diamond Creek, Greensborough and Heidelberg.

Snake catcher of more than 30 years, Jason Donnelly, of Eltham, said the impact of urban sprawl meant it was harder than ever to gauge snakes’ patterns and movements.

Mr Donnelly said suburbs running parallel to waterways such as rivers, streams and creeks were typically hot spots.

He warned this season would be “busier than usual” because snakes had more of an appetite after the relatively low rainfall.

Eastern tiger snake.

Red-bellied black snake. Picture: AAP

“Snakes are hungry at the moment because it’s been a tough time over winter,” he said. “They’re coming closer to houses and they’ll search for food until they find something. Lot of snakes I’ve found already have had empty stomachs.”

Snakes are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is illegal to capture, kill or harm them.

If the risk of breaking the law isn’t a deterrent, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning warn bites are more likely to occur when people try to kill snakes.

The RSPCA said most snakes in Victoria were venomous and would strike if provoked.

SNAKES MOST COMMONLY FOUND IN YOUR AREA

1. Northern (Preston, Doreen, Epping, Wollert): Lowland copperheads, eastern browns, tiger snakes, little whip snakes.

2. Northeast (Diamond Creek, Eltham, Greensborough, Heidelberg): tiger snake, eastern browns, red bellied blacks, lowlandcopperheads, small eyed snakes.

3. Eastern (Park Orchard, Donvale, Ringwood): red bellied black, little whip, small eyed, tiger snakes, browns,

4. Southeast (Springvale, Glen Waverly, Moorabbin, Dandenong): copperheads, tiger snakes, small eyed snake, white lipped snake

5. Northwestern (Sunshine, Tullamarine, Essendon): brown, tiger, red bellied black, little whip.

6. Southwestern (Werribee, Altona North): eastern tiger snakes are extremely common

7. Central Melbourne (CBD and surrounds): mostly tiger snakes.

Mr Pelley said due to changes in the urban and suburban environment of Melbourne, snakes were showing up in locations not typically expected.