Snakes and their babies: what you need to know
Snake handler explains how to deal with snakes and their hatchlings.
MANY people have found juvenile snakes on their properties in recent weeks and snake handler, Nick Evans, has some advice on what to expect when dealing with newborn snakes.
Evans said he was called out to an office to remove three hatchling Mozambique spitting cobras within the space of five days. The snakes are on the search for their first few meals before winter arrives, when food is scarce. Evans said this frightens people, especially when they find a baby snake in the house, which leads to people wondering, “Where’s the mother?”.
He said it is a common belief that baby snakes have parental protection, but this is a fallacy.
“In spring, snakes will come together to mate (some snakes do breed at different times of year). This is the only time they may be seen ‘living together’, but it doesn’t last long. Once they have mated, they go their separate ways. Just over two months later, the mother snake will find a hidden, damp space to lay her eggs. Once she lays her eggs, she moves off, never to see them again. There is no parental guardianship from the parent snakes.
“The exceptions are the Southern African python and skaapsteker, which do help incubate the eggs. The skaapsteker is not found in the Highway area,” said Evans.
He said just over another two months later, the juveniles start to hatch and go their separate ways. There is no one looking after them, so they have to fend for themselves.
“So, if you do see a few baby snakes in the garden, there is the possibility that the mother snake thought of your garden as a nice nursery and laid her eggs somewhere in it. The juveniles won’t stay around together. There are a few snakes, such as the puff adder, which are sometimes found in the upper Highway area and actually give birth to live young, but the same applies to these snakes – the mother does not look after her offspring,” said Evans.
Evans explained that in venomous species, hatchling/newborn snakes are venomous from day one and their venom is just as potent as that of the parents. They need that venom to hunt and catch their food; without it, they would never survive.
“There is a popular belief that juvenile snakes are more dangerous than adults because they supposedly cannot control how much venom they inject. This is not true, and an adult snake has larger venom glands, therefore it can inject a larger volume of venom.
“We’re in autumn now, so a lot of snakes, especially frog-eating species, have been fattening up for winter. Snakes in the Highway area do not hibernate, it’s not cold enough for them to do so. They just become less active because there is no or little food to hunt (like frogs and lizards). Because of this, the snakes that hatched this year have been very active and are starting to grow. They’re vulnerable at this stage as they are easy pickings for predators such as birds or cats. Only a few juveniles make it to adulthood,” added Evans.
His advice to residents is: “If you do happen to see a young snake in the garden, leave it alone. It will move off by itself. If you really don’t want it around, or if it’s in the house, call a snake-catcher for advice or to remove it. Never ever pick up a snake, that’s the golden rule. Snakes are best left alone. Don’t kill them, there’s no need to. Remember, they’re here for a reason, they are a key link in the food chain. They’re nature’s free pest control,” said Evans.
For snake removals in the Highway area, you can contact Nick Evans on 072 809 5806 or nickevanskzn@gmail.com to learn about snakes or visit his site, www.kznamphibianreptileconservation.com.
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