a wildlife day...

[Ken Gargett]

after the snake battle this morning (and col, my postie, was telling me how he nearly ran over an eastern tapian last week just up the road - special!! they are the world's deadliest land snakes and probably what killed the clydesdale up the road), i noticed that an old favourite was back. there are plenty of water dragons (my fave lizards) around the creek below my balcony and they love a bit of sun. one has taken to climbing a tree to get the morning sun. from one of the photos, you can see how high he gets (actually, you can't really - transferring the photo has cut it off tho you can just see the tip of its tail so you can see how high he is). this one is about two and half foot long. they probably grow another six inches.

then i noticed a fish in the creek - there have been tiny ones before but this one was at least a foot and quite hefty. it quickly disappeared under the bank so missed a photo and also could not see what it was.

but did see what disturbed it. an eel. there are quite a few eels in the creek though i'd never seen one bigger than about 15 inches (the one that lives below in the hole near one end of the house is called 'eric' - what else?). if this was eric, he has been feeding well. it was about a metre long. also, they rarely move at all, just drifting about. this one was very active.

[KurtE]

The new pet for Czars

[Scdalak]

Ken, with all the lethal wildlife being a part of everyday life,(snakes, spiders, lizzards etc) do most Aussie's keep some sort of snake bite kit/Anti-venom package in thier house? Do they sell these in local Pharmacies or drug stores? Seems like a good investment to make, especially if you have Clydsdales. Have you or anyone you have known ever been bitten?

[Fuzz]

Human fatalities from either snakes or spiders is rare. I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a death from Funnel Web or Redback spider bites since the anti venom was created back in the early 80's. And there have been only 42 deaths nationwide by snake bite since 1980.

Most of the population will never come across a deadly snake unless they live in the country or near bushland.

[Scdalak]

Most of the population will never come across a deadly snake unless they live in the country or near bushland.

Ummm Wouldn't this include Mr. Gargett??? Just substitute Woods and Creek for Bushland..

[Rehman]

Seems like a good investment to make, especially if you have Clydsdales.

Haha inadvertent chuckle - in bicycling, "Clydesdales" is the term for cyclists weighing more than 200lbs.

[fattires]

Haha inadvertent chuckle - in bicycling, "Clydesdales" is the term for cyclists weighing more than 200lbs.

"speedbumps": term we clydesdales use for smaller cyclists.

[Ken Gargett]

Ken, with all the lethal wildlife being a part of everyday life,(snakes, spiders, lizzards etc) do most Aussie's keep some sort of snake bite kit/Anti-venom package in thier house? Do they sell these in local Pharmacies or drug stores? Seems like a good investment to make, especially if you have Clydsdales. Have you or anyone you have known ever been bitten?

never been bitten, fortunately, but i am not really sure re the comment that aussies don't come across snakes. there are plenty around - yes, they remain hidden but i'd know very few people that have not come across some at some stage. as a kid, in brizzy suburbs, tho granted on the edge of town (but not as far out as i am now), i reckon i would average, over spring/summer, seeing a snake every second day. granted, as a kid, i was out playing where they were. you get very used to them and provided you are careful, no real problem. but when you don't have that regular contact, you are much more nervous around them.

no one i know has an anti-venene kit. not sure that they are available. problem tends to be that you need different kits for different snakes, as much as possible.

only bloke i knew who had been bitten, as - touch wood - it is quite rare, was a deckhand who'd been bitten by seasnakes about five times. even tho they are at ten times more deadly than any land snakes, because they are rear-fanged, they take extra time to inject so he would just rip them off. they didn't bother him at all.

[Orion21]

The same here Ken. In the desert if you hike you will come across rattle snakes and other creatures. The most common venomous creature we encounter are scorpions, that unless allergic to, are not fatal. We don't keep anti-venom or "kits" of any kind. If it happens, you rush to the emergency room and get treated.

[Fuzz]

never been bitten, fortunately, but i am not really sure re the comment that aussies don't come across snakes. there are plenty around - yes, they remain hidden but i'd know very few people that have not come across some at some stage. as a kid, in brizzy suburbs, tho granted on the edge of town (but not as far out as i am now), i reckon i would average, over spring/summer, seeing a snake every second day. granted, as a kid, i was out playing where they were. you get very used to them and provided you are careful, no real problem. but when you don't have that regular contact, you are much more nervous around them.

Perhaps I should change my comment to, "most Aussie who live in cities". Those living in outlying towns or near bushland will see them... like that small township up north called "Brisbane"!