“Snake man” Fanie Cilliers is Ladysmith’s very own expert when it comes to slithering serpents in town. You may be wondering what snakes he gets his hands…
With this in mind, Fanie provided us with some interesting snake statistics for the Ladysmith area. Over the last five years, our “snake man” has removed 214 Southern African Pythons. A whopping 1000 to 1500 Mozambique Spitting Cobras are removed every year. Fanie says he used to encounter about one Puff Adder a year, but last year he removed 15 Puff Adders, including two juveniles!
When it comes to species such as Brown House Snakes, Spotted Bush Snakes and Short-Snouted Grass Snakes, he removes around 500 to 800 of them a year.
The most deadly snakes in the area are Puff Adders and Mozambique Spitting Cobras. Fanie explains that when it comes to aggression, the Mozambique Spitting Cobra is at the top of the list.
Also read: Watch: Snake expert removes African Rock Python from police van near Ladysmith
Also read: Watch Video: Mommy, there’s a snake on the stoep – 5.29-metre Python found near Ladysmith
The largest Southern African Python Fanie has removed was a monster of 5.29 metres, and the largest Mozambique Spitting Cobra measured 1.81 metres.
Apart from snakes, Fanie has also removed other creatures in Ladysmith such as servils, tortoises, monitor lizards (both rock and water), spotted genets, dassies, agama lizards, chameleons, frogs and even huge spiders.
This makes Fanie the “animal whisperer” of Ladysmith.
If you have a snake and you need it removed, you can contact Fanie on 0798388567
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