THERE may be water everywhere, but that won’t stop snakes getting out and about.
A lot of snakes were flushed out of their homes during the October floods, Snakeman Tony Davis said yesterday, so like humans they would have headed to higher ground and stayed there.
While Mr Davis has not had many calls on the snake front, he believes a reason behind the lull could be that snakes went on the move during mating season or that the evacuation of residents could also be behind it.
“Maybe they are on the water’s edge but there’s nobody in North Wagga to see it,” he said.
“Many got flooded out in October, plus October’s mating time so they may have moved on anyhow.”
As one resident found, snakes are still about, and have been sighted close to where people are swimming and floating in floodwaters.
That snakes can swim is something that manages to surprise many people the Snakeman sees.
“I’m surprised at the amount of people that don’t know, and by the amount of people who don’t know a snake can still bite while they are swimming,” he said.
A snakebite that occurs in water is harder to treat, a Greater Southern Area Health Service (GSAHS) doctor said yesterday.
“Water can wash away venom from outside the wound, making identification and treatment with antivenom more difficult,” Dr Trish Saccasan Whelan said.
Mr Davis urges people to wear covered footwear and cover the lower half of the body when they walk through long grass, and to be cautious.