Snakes spring into warm days

As spring brings with it warmer weather, clearer skies and the flowering of plants, it also brings a more dangerous prospect — snakes. Multiple snake sightings have been reported in the first week of spring in the Collie region, with dugites and tiger snakes already being lured out by the slightly warmer weather. South West Reptile Rescues and Education’s Phill Schenberg had advice for people who come face-to-face with a snake this season. “First thing is to keep away from it and to treat all snakes as if they are venomous,” he said. “Don’t approach the snake and always give it an opportunity and a wide berth to escape. “The snakes we see here are non-confrontational so they will defend themselves but they are not going to actively attack a person.” Mr Schenberg said the next step was to call someone to relocate the snake if it was in a backyard or a public park. “Call a relocater, someone who can come and safely remove the snake from the premises,” he said. Snakes can present an extra threat for people’s dogs, who often know no better than to attempt to play with the reptiles. “It depends on the individual dog and sometimes it even comes down to breed,” Mr Schenberg said. “A lot of the bigger dogs will prefer to stand back and bark at it. “Other dogs will either try and chase it away, or try and play with it. Not all dogs are malicious but obviously the snake won’t see that and considers them all to be a threat.” Dugites and tiger snakes are the two most common snakes in the Collie region, with carpet snakes also occasionally sighted. Report any snake sighting in a backyard or public park to a ranger, or call a snake relocater and keep pets inside.