Wild deformed Blotchy returns & now mother

[El Lobo]

As with the Blotchies, Copperheads are separated into two forms, highland and lowland. The lowland copperhead (Austrelaps superbus) is in S.A., Southern Victoria and Tasmania whereas the highland copperhead (Austrelaps ramsayi) is in the more mountainous ranges of NE Victoria and NSW. I find them visually really beautiful snakes with a range of colours from slate gray to a bright copper.

This is one that visited just outside our door.

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Don't try this at home.

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[Rani-May]

Holy crap, your braver than me, i wouldnt go near it lol. well actually might have to considering our reptile rescue and snake guy down here never answers his phone or comes to appointments

[El Lobo]

Mother made her first appearance for the season today, basking up against the bricks for warmth.

She is very lean after brumation.

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[Spindown]

I love the US copperheads, but that OZ one is amazing!! Holy crap, I would NOT do that myself...I'd get bitten and die in about 2 seconds

[Jeff]

Very awesome Norm! I am even more jealous now! What the heck are you grabbing the copperhead for though? That is like something a crazy old man would do!

[Richard.C]

Lol,nice copperhead shot norm,theres also a pygmy copperhead to along with highland and lowland forms

Nice to see the mum back,perhaps she had a litter last season,hence low weight,she looks good regardless

[El Lobo]

I last saw the big Blotchy girl on April 14 this year when she looked to be gravid but it was so late in the season I wasn't sure if she was or not and I haven't so far found any small enough to have been born in April. It would fit in with the biennial breeding pattern though as her last litter was March, 2010.

Jeff - no matter how much you would like it to be they will not go into a snake bag voluntarily. It had to be re-located as it was far too close to the house.

A couple of stock photos I grabbed to show the variation in colour. The copper coloured one was photographed only a few kilometers from where we are. The slate one is identical to one we had around work.

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[Spindown]

Sounds like you need some snake hooks!
Goodness they are pretty!

[Scotts1au]

We used to get copperheads commonly on the outer east of Melbourne. One day I disturbed a large one (guess about 4 feet long) which slithered away under an old car door. Later I went back to look at it only to find that it regurgitated a full grow lowland blotched bluey.

[El Lobo]

Sounds like you need some snake hooks!
Goodness they are pretty!

Snake hooks are for girls.

The most likely time to get bitten is when they are coming out of the bag when they can do a sudden turn and bite. I let someone else do the re-locating.

We used to get copperheads commonly on the outer east of Melbourne. One day I disturbed a large one (guess about 4 feet long) which slithered away under an old car door. Later I went back to look at it only to find that it regurgitated a full grow lowland blotched bluey.

We get Copperheads around our place because there is a natural spring draining into a swamp close by. They hunt mostly for frogs but also go after the Blotchies - dispels the old rumour about blueys and snakes not occupying the same territory. The young Copperheads are much more dangerous than the fully grown; the little sods are aggressive and aren't subtle enough to give a 'dry' bite like most of the more laid back shy adults.

Didn't you keep one in the past?

[Spindown]

Snake hooks are for girls.

haha good thing I am one then
I also would never risk getting envenomated by ANYTHING living in the US...antivenin hospital visits can be $130,000+
with insurance, which may or man NOT even cover an accidental, wild encounter with a venomous snake...

[Scotts1au]

Yeh Norm, as I kid I used to catch them by throwing a top over them and wrapping them up. I remember having a 3ft one in a fishtank in my bedroom that I caught ( and strangely my parents let me), everytime I walked in the room it would try to bite me though the tank, you could hear thud thud as I walked past (and yes I let them go again where I caught them)- they are very shy animals, which also converts into being very defensive if they feel threatened. One of the most poisonous snakes in the world, alas they have relatively short fangs and realistically the only way you would most likely get bitten is trying to pick them up . They have a phenomenal growth rate, as do a lot of cool climate animals when the going is good.

[Richard.C]

One of the nicest looking of the vens i reckon copperheads

[El Lobo]

I also would never risk getting envenomated by ANYTHING living in the US...antivenin hospital visits can be $130,000+
with insurance, which may or man NOT even cover an accidental, wild encounter with a venomous snake...

It certainly is vastly different here where most public hospitals carry anti-venom and there is no charge for treatment of an emergency. It is different for vets who have to buy the anti-venom so it goes for about $500 per vial.

We aren't overrun with Copperheads, I have only seen about 5 on our property in the past 20 years with most inclined to move off with no incident. They are more likely to come closer to the house during dry periods when they are searching for water but I'd rather they not come because of the wild Blotchies that live here. I know for certain a Copperhead killed one of the young and I'm fairly sure there was also at least one other before. As they are native fauna they are protected under law.

[Scotts1au]

The horror

http://www.herpetologynotes.seh-herpeto ... 59-260.pdf

[El Lobo]

Thanks for that link Scott.

I am familiar with the site the author mentioned, it's only about 15 minutes away from me. It actually helped to resolve an issue I have contemplated for a few years about reptilian recovery from extreme bushfire episodes. This area was on the perimeter of a very poorly managed intense bushfire starting in November 2006 which burned for many days from down in the Grose Valley up to the escarpment where this sighting was made only four years later. It does suggest that reptiles may survive these fires better than I previously thought possible.

[Richard.C]

Some reptiles florish after fires go through,beardy populations explode,but they are fast reproducers and multiclutch,they may move into area after the burn though