It’s enough to make you swear off sleeping ever again. Mackay-based snake catcher and breeder Brett Modra has warned the current heatwave and overall warming trend has disrupted the reptile’s breeding cycles – which could mean potentially more snakes acting aggressively.
“So, the likelihood of a venomous snake coming into a dwelling to escape the heat is probably a lot more than it used to be,” he said.
His warning follows an encounter of the slithery kind last weekend in which a north Queensland man woke up to find an unknown snake biting him a number of times on the face (that has got to be the stuff of nightmares).
Queensland Health has also issued a warning about the heat affecting snake behaviour, saying more people are showing up at hospital with snake bites.
But it’s not just Queenslanders who are in danger of an unwanted encounter.
A Christmas tree farm south of Bega in New South Wales has told the ABC they’ve been inundated by brown snakes that are posing a threat to browsing visitors.
“I carry a rake around with me at all times now,” owner Deb Court said.
“It’s a kill-joy on the family tradition.”
Note to self: buy a rake.
