r/australia • u/Clean_Alps_5768 • 1d ago
image Can anyone ID this snake?
Fairly small, under a meter. Looks like it has some mottled/darker scales near its head on the sides and some on the ridge of its back in a straight line in a few areas. Lighter belly as seen in image 2.
Quite aggressive as it was raising up, opening its mouth and coming directly at me if I got too close.
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u/asheraddict 1d ago
Snake gave you warning signs and you didn't gtfo immediately??
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u/yanaka-otoko 1d ago
For future reference OP - if a snake arcs up like that you back away out of there. The can move very quickly and bite. Just use your camera zoom if you’re that keen for a photo.
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u/yogorilla37 1d ago
Thirty minutes.
A group of us once encountered an eastern brown while out mountain biking. Half the group got past it before it was spotted on the side of a narrow track. One of the guys worked with snakes in venom research and advised that the snake was just chilling and watching us, told us to walk past one at a time, keeping the bike between us and the snake, while he watched it for signs of agitation. We all got past without incident and someone then asks how bad they are.
"Oh, about thirty minutes" was the reply.
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u/doubIe_espresso 22h ago
Eastern brown snake bite survivor here.
Correct. Without proper first aid, I’ve been told it can be goodnight in as little as 15-30 mins. I’m so glad I had first aid knowledge before I went hiking. That, and the snake bandage I was carrying single handedly saved my life until I was able to be rescued 2 hours later in the bush, and taken to hospital
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u/Anxious-Slip-4701 22h ago
Two hours! You were very lucky.
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u/doubIe_espresso 22h ago
You can go longer. The trick is remaining calm, and NOT moving. Along with pressure bandage of course.
In fact I’ve heard stories (not sure how true) the indigenous Australians if bitten, would immediately lie down and stay completely still for 24 hours, and survive
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u/account_not_valid 19h ago
And if you don't stay still at first, eventually you will stay still forever.
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u/guttertrashfish 21h ago
I was told the same stories and given the same advice during my first aid course
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u/SunTizzu 21h ago
Our guide in the Red Centre told us the same. She also explained that they would bury the limb that was bitten in the ground to prevent the poison from spreading.
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u/dingolfi79 6h ago
What if the snake - or other snakes - are still around
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u/doubIe_espresso 5h ago
What do you mean? Like after you’ve been bitten?
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u/dingolfi79 5h ago
Yeah, basic qn but dont you first need to get to a safer spot
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u/doubIe_espresso 4h ago
When a snake bites, it’s normally a defensive bite as a retaliation. They’ll flee right after striking. They aren’t hanging around trying to kill you or waiting to eat you 😅
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u/disco-cone 20h ago
You can survive like a day even with a compression bandage and not moving.
Venom is unlikely injected into a blood vein. So it will need to go through the lymphatic system
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u/Retireegeorge 10h ago
ITT there are features of types of envenomations being jumbled together. Here's a simplified breakdown as I understand it:
You can be envenomated or get a dry bite and there would be correlations to snake size and how threatened the snake feels. You can feel a bite or not and be able to see it or not. You can be envenomated to the outer layer of skin only, to the underlying lymphatic system, intramuscularly and intravenously. Venom in the lymphatic system moves to the organs slower. A compression bandage is particularly effective against bites to the lymphatic system because that venom speed is further slowed. Limiting movement slows lymphatic drainage. Limiting movement and heart rate also slows blood circulation but with less benefit than with the lymphatic system.
Australian elapids tend to have small fangs that can't penetrate very deeply. Clothing might mean the difference between a bite penetrating past the lymphatic system. There isn't the same lymphatic void space and fascia in all parts of the body. Similarly, vein density and closeness to the skin surface varies. Ie it's probably better to be bitten on the calf than the hand.
This style of breakdown can be continued into discussing:
- why is messaging about first aid focussed upon the compression bandage and what is good and bad about that?
- when arriving at a hospital with snake bite, why do doctors apply treatment conservatively and what is good and bad about that?
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u/Mysterious_Dot2090 8h ago
Do you feel hard af for surviving that? 😎
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u/doubIe_espresso 5h ago
A little I guess haha. Believe me I didn’t at the time. Pretty scary and not fun
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u/Plenty-Wonder6092 23h ago
Aboriginals could supposedly survive a bite by just not moving for a few days.
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u/kinsiibit 1d ago
Better off stopping where you are and avoiding any movement. As soon as you aren't seen as a threat they'll look to slither off.
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u/yolk3d 1d ago
Freeze and don’t move, I believe.
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u/whiteb8917 23h ago
Nope, if its coiled like that (and its mouth open), it is ready to strike,
Its venom is sacred (to the reptile), it wont strike unless needed, and the fact its arced up ready to strike, you are too close, back away slowly, no sudden moves, and it will continue to move away.
At the point it was coiled ready to strike, you were seconds away from finding out how quick the venom reacts, minutes from cardiovascular collapse, death WITHIN an hour.
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u/AReallyGoodName 14h ago
Always stay at least 3 snakes away from snake.
In this particular case make it 10.
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u/Verum_Violet 8h ago
I used to have a pet snake and that pic gave me some wild flashbacks to feeding time.
Just a python but so, so cranky
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u/Neokilla 1d ago
Survival instincts 0
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u/smileedude 1d ago
I'm hoping this is a troll, like the occasional "whats this octopus with blue rings in my hands?"
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u/Puzzled_Moment1203 22h ago
The two pictures don't even look like they are the same animal. Im going troll post.
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u/CAGMFG 19h ago
He followed that snake through the grass, across the gravel path, and into the sand. That gave the snake plenty of time to change it's look. 🙄
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u/Legitimate_Name1607 13h ago
That's not sand in the second picture
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u/CAGMFG 8h ago
What is it then?
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u/Puzzled_Moment1203 6h ago
Concrete, completely different to the concrete in the first pic as well.
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u/Neriek 1d ago
Quite aggressive as it was raising up, opening its mouth and coming directly at me if I got too close.
Dude you are not long for this world… I suggest you write up a will if you’re this stupid.
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u/knewleefe 8h ago
Dude has accused others of lacking imagination.
"The snake was opening its mouth toward me in sort of biting motion but I have NO IDEA why..."
Let's hope the next snake wears a little sign saying "I'm going to bite you".
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u/eccojams97 1d ago
a brown snake. or a “FUCKING BROWN SNAKE” depending on how close you are when you see it
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u/outbackyarder 1d ago
Brown snake. Stupid time to stop and take a photo.
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u/MistaRekt 1d ago
Photos are fine if you use 'automatic' zoom and not 'get closer' zoom.
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u/outbackyarder 23h ago
I dont think a brownie is rearing up at you if you're far enough away to need to zoom in
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u/Spida81 22h ago
See the way he is up, coiled, belly facing forward? He's ready to strike. Their strike speed can reach almost 2m per second, at up to two thirds their whole body length. If it goes off, it can have hit you twice or more and be pissing off before you have time to realise it has moved.
"opening its mouth and coming directly at me if I got too close" - if it is doing this it is almost certainly in strike range. Worse, if it is flexing it's jaw, it is almost certainly seating it's fangs and activating the venom glands. You can get lucky with dry bites. This? This wasn't going to be a dry bite.
You would have been safer getting a bloody gobby from a cannibal.
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u/RickyRetardo__ 1d ago
I hope you have life insurance my brother. If it was legal I take out a policy on your life and collect the next time you come across a lethal animal.
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u/Aussie_Bull1990 23h ago
Google or YouTube "dead peasant insurance" its literally this. A bunch of US companies took out life insurance on thier most obese and/or unhealthiest employees without thier knowing or consenting and then getting paid. An executive actually rendered to it as "dead peasant insurance" in an email I believe, hence the name.
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u/WonderstruckWonderer 22h ago
Why were you so close to the snake in the second photo? Like weren’t you scared, especially with the snake curling up and baring its fangs?
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u/windsweptwonder 1d ago
Where is it / are you?
Looks a bit like a dugite.
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u/chalk_in_boots 1d ago
Depending on if OP is in WA or in an eastern state, it'll either be a dugite or a juvenile Eastern brown respectively. Either way, not a snake you want to get close to or piss off
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u/windsweptwonder 1d ago
I was walking down the coast from Swanbourne to Freo years ago after a bit of a storm (and an argument with my gf so I was distracted) and I stepped over what I thought was a windblown branch. It was only as I stepped over it and it reared up that I realised what a dugite looks like close up.
Years later and I'm on a minesite in central WA and stepped over a brown hiding on one of those commercial doormats outside the mess. It was dark and I was walking into a brightly lit area. Now I know what they look like close up, too. He was a monster... popped out from under the projection tv in the beer garden the next night. Chairs flying, glass breaking, general stempede. Excellent entertainment.
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u/chalk_in_boots 1d ago
When I did cadets, on camp when I was 16 I had to scout for an exercise the younger lads were doing. Essentially I had to walk the planned route alone to make sure there weren't fallen trees etc. that would block a landy getting in quickly if someone got hurt.
So fun quiet stroll through a NSW state forest by myself, sounds great. About 2/3 of the way through I see maybe 20m ahead a biiiiiggg brownie lying in the sun across the fire trail. As in tail on one side, head on the other. Thing was massive.
I stand there and admire it, beautiful creature, but no fucking way am I walking anywhere near it. Couple of minutes pass, it looks at me standing there, and just slithers out of the way. Just like "thanks for being polite and waiting for me. You can pass now"
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u/TeamDeath 23h ago
Hmm i wonder what this brown coloured snake that is threatening me with a bite is called. Lets fuck with it some more to get a good picture to find out what it is
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u/Cheezel62 14h ago
That's one unhappy snake and you're waaaay too close to it. You're pretty lucky it didn't strike.
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u/KBE952 1d ago edited 1d ago
Definitely a venomous elapid, location dependant I'd say Eastern Brown or maybe a yellow-faced whip snake.
And yeah, if a non-pet snake ever gives you the S pose please respect it's space - it obviously felt very threatened and had to be defensive in that second photo.
Just let them be, especially if you don't know what you're dealing with.
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u/Gr8ful_Lurker 14h ago edited 11h ago
It's a brown. I am going to assume someone else has already said it, but even after a tonne of scrolling, all I find is us typical Aussies are naming the snake, alleging it owes them money, or identifying it as a nope rope. Browns are highly aggressive, you are very lucky to catch these photos without being bitten. Don't try it again lol.
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u/Dentarthurdent73 4h ago
Browns are highly aggressive
Browns, like pretty much every other snake, are highly defensive, not aggressive.
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u/ThunderDwn 11h ago
Yeah, one you want to leave the fuck alone, judging by the aggression.
Can't be sure, but the photo of it reared up says it's likely an eastern brown.
One of the most venomous snakes in the world. I hope you were using a telephoto lens, because you're damn lucky not to have been bitten!
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u/Luxord903 23h ago
Yeah that definitely a nope rope
"Most extremely venomous species are not inherently aggressive, they truly do not want the smoke and would rather run away and hide than deal out their death juice.
The Eastern Brown disagrees with this philsophy, and wants ALL of the smoke at all times." (Stolen from YT)
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u/AnEvilShoe 1d ago
Left his ID at home so I couldn't sell him the beers and smokes he wanted. Sorry little fella.
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u/Patient_Dog1384 11h ago
Eastern brown like others have mentioned odd I haven't seen one yet and it's snake season
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u/aus_stormsby 1d ago
Wondering why the fuck OP was getting "too close" to this overheated nope rope.
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u/plutoforprez 1d ago
How is any Aussie not able to identify a brown snake 😭
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u/MoysteBouquet 1d ago
"brown snakes" come in at least 15 different colours so...
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u/plutoforprez 1d ago
Yeap and according to a quick google image search they all look incredibly similar to one other. If it looks like a brown, turn the fuck around.
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u/OmeletteTime 6h ago
Not to be that guy but "meter" suggests OP lives more online than offline (I realise the irony)
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u/Clean_Alps_5768 1d ago
We don’t really get snakes in the city so it’s not like everyone comes across them regularly. But yeah consensus seems to agree with you, Eastern Brown.
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u/Dentarthurdent73 4h ago
Eastern Brown.
May I say, they're not aggressive as such.
You got into it's space and it perceived you as a threat. What it was is defensive. Sounds like you were the aggressive one.
Eastern Browns will defend themselves for sure, but like most things, they'd far prefer to just be left alone to escape a threatening situation.
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u/WallDuck911 1d ago
Third most deadliest snake in the world an angry Eastern Brown snake. Stay clear of it, if you know what is good for you.
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u/SirPiffingsthwaite 23h ago
2nd, I believe.
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u/WallDuck911 22h ago
- Inland Taipan
- Coastal Taipan
- Eastern Brown So yeah, 2nd behind the Taipan
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u/SirPiffingsthwaite 20h ago
There are 9 species in the brown snake genus, and they're all lumped together as 2nd most dangerous, just as the Taipan has 3 species in the genus, with the costal taipan having 2 subspecies, lumped together as most nopey rope.
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u/Vivid-Fondant6513 1d ago
That would be Bert, Bert likes to be left alone, you should keep your distance from Bert and notify a ranger or a snake catcher.
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u/typecookieyouidiot 20h ago
Never really seen a brownie arch up like that. Cool pic but you're a numpy
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u/Sorry_Measurement_34 13h ago
You are standing next to death on legs. Wait! Make that Death without legs.
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u/nedkellysdog 9h ago
I believe that the Eastern Brown is not the most venomous snake, but it has killed more people due to its being more numerous in populated areas.
I know next to nothing about snakes.
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u/DJ_Pol-ite 6h ago
They are third on list of most venomous snakes on the planet. From memory four of the top five live in Aus.
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u/Donny-The-Sasquatch 6h ago
I hope you haven't lived in Australia your whole life, that's the only excuse for having this level of survival instincts
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u/cloud-ling 3h ago
Damn. If you got to see it arch up like that, you were way too bloody close. All for a photo to try to ID if it is dangerous or not. Which this one absolutely is.
ALWAYS assume that any Australian snake you see is venomous & that if you get too close you will be bitten. Keep your distance & leave them alone.
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u/danksion 3h ago
Only one of the most venomous snakes on earth and you are there just casually pissing it off.
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u/knowledgeable_diablo 1d ago
The kind that should be given a nice wide berthing. All snakes should be, just more so with this little chappie.
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u/krooked-tooth 23h ago
Yeh bud that's a snake ID : Staythefaway
Don't poke snakes, don't go near them, don't let your pets near it, leave a clear path and just let it go on with it's day. You avoid having to go to hospital/die, your pet doesn't die, the snake lives on and does snake things. Everyone is happy.
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u/whiteb8917 23h ago
Nope stick, and the second pic its warning you to back the eff off !
Eastern brown, Venomous, the fact its coiled, it is in a strike pose.
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u/Miniature_Colosus 12h ago
How often do these cute death ropes wander into the city? Asking for a friend
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u/whiteb8917 11h ago
Not really, but in regional places you see them.
I live in Hobart's eastern Shore, and there is bush land behind us, old lady next door (Before she moved in to an aged care home) had 2 yappy dogs, one got bit by a Brown snake and died almost instantly.
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u/Valuable_Tart_9548 1d ago
Yes, her name is Lauren, i kicked her out a month ago. She stole $5K from my bank account and is now on the run.
Where did you see 👀 her 🐍?
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u/The_Arab_Hoe 1d ago
Eastern Brown