Snakes and their behavior

[Top Croc]

There is a long thread in Ask the expats re snakes. For the life of me I cannot locate it. If this post requires re-posting please do so.

All posts are informative and interesting. The one thing missing to me is what is the snake going to do when accidentally disturbed or stumbled across.

My wife is a Bangkok city girl who now having space is into the garden when ever possible. She emailed me a few days ago commenting that there was a small brown snake in one of the dwarf coconut trees, she was told by the gardener it was harmless. She has very little country/bush/village experience so snakes are a new to her.

We have been advised that particularly in the dry season a lot of snakes are around hunting for food, these include the Cobra.

One comment is that a Cobra can easily out slither a running person. My question is if confronted by a Cobra for example do you run, stay calm and hope it goes away or move away with caution, is it going to have a go at you or will it try and escape on its own.

I would appreciate any advice on what to do re the common snakes we are likely to find in the garden.

Pit vipers, hmm, seem very scary and from what I read in the thread seems if you find one it's too late.

When I return HH in Oct I will try the Sulphur trick around the property.

Bottom line is I would like to give my wife (and self) a level of knowledge that will avoid panic should an encounter happen.

[JW]

Snakes will typically try and get away, dont corner them and treat them all as dangerous if you cant identify them. Friends found a nasty a month or so ago and they called the Fire fighters who came and took care of it for them. They will come if there is food in the area, so make sure that rats are not tempted into your property. Sure all will be fine.

[Takiap]

OP...............Cobras are deadly, but they are not as aggressive as what many people believe. In fact, a cobra will quite often not even bite when it strikes, but of course it's best not to take chance. We have had a few visit us here at our place and basically, the minute they see you they try to escape. Unless you know what you're doing, I would advise you to let them go on their way. To kill one you have to get quite close, and depending on its size, you could well be within its reach. If you happen to stumble across one, simply stand still or back away. It will NOT chase you - ever! That only happens in the movies I'm afraid.

As a side note, there are other snakes, apart from cobras, that also flatten their necks in order to scare you off. When we first moved into the house, we found what we thought was a cobra, but when some workers took a look at it, they said, "not same cobra", grabbed it by the tale, and yes you guessed it, it became their supper.

Pit Vipers................well, we've unfortunately had several of them around, but unlike with the cobras, I don't see them on their way. I have two small kids to think about, and the Pit Vipers don't seem that willing to bugger off when you get close. I nearly stood on one the one night just as I was getting onto my bike, but fortunately it didn't strike. This also makes me wonder if they really are as keen to strike as what some people say they are. Each time I have come across one after that first time, it's been because my Rottie has alerted me, and I have then gone ahead and killed them. Normally, I don't mind snakes but Pit Vipers are bad news, and even more of a worry when you've got young kids running about.

Oh yes, I have just remembered another encounter with a cobra. It happened when I was down the road cutting food for my goat. While busy, I noticed a huge one about 3 to 4 meters away from where I was standing. Obviously it was also aware of me being there because it just stayed perfectly still. I simply carried on with what I was doing and the snake continued on it's way, so there you have it, cobras will not start chasing you.

You'll also encounter rat snakes from time to time. These can get quite big and as a result, they can look quite scary. However, they will ensure you don't have any rats moving in, and as far as I know, they also keep the toad population down.

I have also found two pythons here, but they were just babies. I just let them be, so I have no idea whatever became of them because I've never come across any pythons since then. If you do come across any of these, please don't kill them because if they grow big enough, they can hopefully eat one or two of those pesky soi dogs that keep running in front of my bike.

I think a lot also depends on your property. If you don't have much land then there's not really enough space for each and all to go about their lives without disturbing each other. We have half a rai, the house only takes up about 130 square meters, so there's plenty of space to go around for all to share. I even have bats under the house, and I've had a huge job trying to convince my other half that they are not bad luck, but instead, they're good luck because they eat tons of mossies and etc.

If you really must get rid of a snake, and you don't want to kill it, or you don't want to get that close in the first place, you can make a very effective snake catcher for under 100 baht using some PVC pipe and some cord. Just Google it if interested.

Above all, enjoy your stay, and tell your wife those creepy crawly worm-like things one comes across from time to time are worse that the average snake you'll see. I don't remember the Thai name for them, but to you and I, they're centipedes. They give a nasty bite, which will result in you going to hospital. On the other hand, give one to a few Thai kids and they'll have it "de-weaponized" in no time at all. They will then play with it until it eventually becomes boring, and at that point, it gets to meet its maker. Jokes aside, they are nasty critters, and you really don't want a bite from one.

[buksida]

There's more info on snakes in the area here: http://expathuahin.com/snakes-huahin.php

As said above they nearly always shy away from humans so please don't kill them, we are in their territory and they were here first.

[MwD]

I've had a few snakes in my garden, and in every instance, the snake was only interested in getting out of the garden as fast as possible. As has already been mention, generally snakes only attack if feel threated.

The giant centipedes that Takiap is referring to are know as Ta-Kab. We have had more of these in our garden then snakes.

The pest control company I use in Hua-Hin can put chemicals down around the perimeter of your property to help deter snakes entering. One downside to this, it can keep snakes in :-)

[hhfarang]

As said above, most snakes, including cobras want nothing to do with a human and will run (faster than you can) away from you if they see you or feel the ground vibration of your footsteps approaching.

This is the main one to worry about here:



It's called the Malayan Pit Viper and is responsible for more human bites in South Asia than any other snake. The reason as stated above is that they do not run away. They do not chase you either. They usually sit in a coiled posture under the edge of bushes or in tall grass where they blend in with their camouflaged color and only strike if you come too close or threaten them. These are very common here as I have killed one every couple of months on my property.

Here's a photo I took of one (posted on another thread) in my yard a while back and this is the pose I always find them in (unless the dogs find them first)!

http://www.huahinafterdark.com/forum/vi ... er#p156833

[Top Croc]

Thanks Guys for the most constructive advice.

[devehrey]

Pit vipers and cobras, I think are as dangerous and poisonous as the other. Pit vipers are more common in near the beach or mangrove areas, I think.

[crazy88]

Scalopendra are the centipedes and the bite is very painful and makes you quite ill.

Crazy 88

[carol]

sulpher trick ???? can you tell me what this is

[PeteC]

sulpher trick ???? can you tell me what this is

I didn't re-read all the above Carol but I think the poster meant 'sulphur stick' or simply powdered sulphur. Many people sprinkle this in their gardens and around their property lines to repel snakes. I assume they can smell it and/or it irritates their skin as they slither across it. We had a snake problem and the garden guys went and bought that and put it everywhere. Didn't see a snake for a long time but no idea if the sulphur was the reason. It doesn't wash away with rain or watering either. Pete

[Morgan33]

I was bitten by a brown snake whilst walking the dogs on a track in the paddy fields in Buriram. I stood on it whilst watching the dogs although it was pretty well hidden. I went to the local hospital and you could see the two puncture marks but the doctor was very relaxed about it and said to wait a couple of hours and see if it went red and swelled up. He didn't give me any injections or anything. I was well impressed when I read later that you can die from a Cobra bite in less than an hour! We have had a number of them in the garden though and the dogs seem to hound them and keep them at bay and as said before they seem more frightened than you are and just want to get away.

[poosmate]

Did you die?

[STEVE G]

I was bitten by a brown snake whilst walking the dogs on a track in the paddy fields in Buriram. I stood on it whilst watching the dogs although it was pretty well hidden.

I spend quite a lot of time up there and it's really important to keep an eye on where you're stepping, as you found out! By far the easiest way of getting bitten by a snake is by stepping on it.
If there's long grass it's best to get a stick to push it away in front of you to make sure you can see the path ahead of you.
The only other problem is that if there are overhanging trees, you have to watch out for those thin bright green snakes that dangle down from them as well.

[jimmy40]

You can also buy snake rid at villa market, comes in about a 3/4 litre container full of this white granuler stuff, i think it was about 1000 baht. Haven't seen any snakes so it may work