Snakes will be on the move earlier than usual across South East Queensland and northern New South Wales as the region experiences an unseasonably warm end to winter.
Brisbane is forecast to hit a maximum of 34C on Saturday with well above average temperatures forecast for much of Queensland and the north-east corner of New South Wales throughout the week.
Professor Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland’s School of the Environment said warmer temperatures meant prey animals like skinks and frogs were increasingly out and about, which meant snakes would be too.
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“Absolutely snakes are on the move,” he said.
“Warmer weather means more reptile activity.
“We’ve gotten rid of the doona on the bed already, you know, and we’re about a month and a half early for that.”
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In winter, snakes enter a dormant state called brumation, in which they stop eating and their metabolism slows as the temperature drops.
This means they will usually seek out somewhere to hide, sheltered from changes in surface temperature, but they can still be about, particularly on sunny days.
Fry said changes in seasonal weather patterns and an increase in temperature extremes meant snake season would last longer, and human encounters would become more prevalent.
“Instead of it being too cool at 10pm or 11pm or even midnight for some of the snakes to be out moving, we may be seeing snakes moving literally all through the night.
“Once we hit the temperature extremes, you’re gonna have more snakes seeking refuge in garages or under your houses or even in the house.
“They’re just another heat distressed animal trying to find a cool spot to avoid getting cooked.”
Fry has lived in Brisbane for 30 years and said he has noticed a “dramatic” change in the seasons in that time.
“It’s never been this warm this early,” he said.
John Grant, a spokesman for wildlife rescue organisation WIRES, said the number of calls to the service in recent weeks was consistent with the same time last year, which was Australia’s warmest winter on record.
In Melbourne’s north-east, snake catcher Mark Pelley said he was receiving consistent calls for help removing snakes from buildings.
He was on his way to a call-out at a university when he spoke to nine.com.au.
“I don’t usually expect snakes until it really warms up, but when they’re gonna come, they’re all gonna come together and they have unanimously decided to start to show up now,” Pelley said.
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Fry estimates up to half of all snake bites could likely be avoided and said all snakes should be treated as potentially venomous.
“Every year people wake up to the fact that we have dangerous wildlife and that if you’re incredibly stupid around them, you are gonna end up in the hospital,” he said.
“If you have enough time to go into your garage and get a shovel, you’re not in immediate danger.
“You could have gone into the house and gotten your phone and rang the local snake catcher.
“Snakes don’t start fights but they will end the fight.”
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If bitten by a snake, experts recommend moving away from the snake, removing any jewellery and applying a pressure bandage.
The bandage should be wrapped from below, upwards and over the bite site.
The bitten area should be immobilised, then call Triple Zero for help.
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