‘They’re everywhere’: Snake forces Sydney Covid testing site shut

A snake catcher has been called out to a Covid testing centre in Sydney after workers reported seeing several snakes.

How very Australian … a venomous red-bellied black snake has forced a Covid testing site in Sydney to close.

Sean Cade, of Australian Snake Catchers, was called to the St Mary’s site in western Sydney on Monday to find a little guy causing a lot of trouble.

“It must have thought it was RAT testing,” Mr Cade joked.

He said the site was closed for most of the morning with workers reporting they had seen two or three snakes on Monday and another last Friday.

However, Mr Cade said because the snake he caught was young and lively they may have seen the same one multiple times.

We’ll be waiting to see if he gets another call out to the testing site this week.

The red-bellied black snake caught at the Covid testing site. Picture: Australian Snake Catchers

Sean Cade said baby snakes were more dangerous to catch. Picture: Australian Snake Catchers

Even though the snake was small, it didn’t mean the catch was easy or any less dangerous.

“The sharp end is closer to your fingers,” Mr Cade said, speaking of the difficulty in handling baby snakes. “The baby has got exactly the same venom as the parents.

“It’s a little bit harder because you’ve got to be more gentle. I can’t get a handful of snake, but I can with a four-footer.

“I’ve got to pick them up with my index finger and thumb. My intention is not to harm the snake in any way. So I’ve got to be gentle because I don’t want to break their spine or ribs or do something untoward while trying to rescue it.”

Workers at the Covid testing site thought they saw several snakes but Mr Cade thinks it might have just been the one popping up. Picture: Australian Snake Catchers

Mr Cade said at the moment red-bellied black snakes, particularly babies, were “everywhere”.

The species breed in spring, with a gestation period of about 14 weeks. They then give birth to live young.

“They have between 12 to 20 generally,” Mr Cade said.

He added there were also a lot of young eastern brown snakes around. They breed from spring to early summer and lay eggs, which can hatch quicker the hotter the weather.

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Late last year there were several warnings, including from NSW Health, about increased numbers of venomous snakes and spiders.

St John Ambulance warned that with continued wet weather, snakes and spiders were being forced out of their natural habitat in search of drier areas, and therefore it was expected that sightings within the home would increase.

Australian Reptile Park head of reptiles and spiders, Daniel Rumsey, said snakes were going to take advantage of the good times with an abundance of food around.

“We had an extended period of drought, so some of these conditions these animals wouldn’t have experienced for years,” he said.

The increase in snakes won’t just be isolated to this year. Mr Rumsey said we would notice more baby snakes over the next couple of years.

“It’s so ingrained in their biology to go all right conditions are good, there’s rain, there’s food, let’s start breeding.”