Snakes alive there’s two

By Bridget Brady
NIGEL Williamson had his work cut out for him when he arrived at Devon Meadows property to catch a snake recently, only to find a second one staring straight at him.
The animal rescuer had been called to a home in Craig Road where a resident had found a copper head snake.
“I was kneeling on the ground and then I realised 18 inches away from me there is a second one on my left looking at me and ready to go,” Mr Williamson said.
He asked the resident to grab his snake pole and he slowly manoeuvred it into a bag while he held onto the first snake in his other hand.
It all ended safely, despite the second snake being within striking distance, Mr Williamson said.
“In 25 years of chasing snakes about three times I have come across more than one.
“It made my heart skip a beat until I realised how I was going to deal with it, and we did it successfully. I had all of the protective gear on and in reality it wasn’t what I would call a high risk situation.”
Mr Williamson said the rescue was his first for this season and reminded Casey resid-ents snakes can appear now any day the sun was out.
“Now that people are getting into their gardens and cleaning up they have to have in the back of their minds that the City of Casey is a big snake area.”
Mr Williamson said they would remove about 40 snakes a year from the municipality.
He said it was important to have long pants, loose clothing and strong boots on when in the garden and ensure grass was not too long.
If bitten on the leg, people should bandage from the toe to the groin, Mr Williamson said.
“Then sit down and relax and ring an ambulance so they can anticipate your arrival.
“Do not clean the wound, leave the venom on the outside so it can be tested.”