By Amelia Willmer
Meet Warwick’s one and only snake catcher, a man whom ever customer is always very glad to meet.
Anthony Adams is looking forward to some quiet time after one of the busiest snake retrieval seasons he has ever had.
Our photographer Chris Munro was on the scene at Pratten Street last week where a huge eastern brown (pictured) was making itself at home in the Warwick back yard where little children regularly play.
“A lot of people don’t think there are many snakes in town,” said Anthony, “but in actual fact, snakes thrive in human habitats.
“There is always water and, if people leave out cat and dog food, that attracts things that snakes like to eat. The lizards and mice go for the pet bowls and the snakes go for the lizards and mice.”
Anthony says he has had a very busy season with up to six calls on some days.
“It has been a big snake season because they are a lot healthier after the mouse plague and they are breeding up. At the moment I am getting lots of young ones. The babies are popping out everywhere this year.
“They tend to fatten up before going quiet for the cooler months. But it is a mistake to think that they hibernate. That is not true. They are there all year round, just a bit quieter in the cold weather but they do not shut down and they still come out to sun themselves even in winter.”
Anthony regularly retrieves eastern browns, red belly blacks and, more unusual, blue belly blacks (or spotted black snakes) more common in Toowoomba but still in evidence on the Southern Downs, especially in drier areas out in paddocks.
Blue-bellied Black Snakes are predominantly a shiny bluish- or brownish-black, with a dark bluish-grey or black belly. Some individuals can be cream/pale grey in colour, with each scale edged in black, giving a spotted appearance (hence their other common name Spotted Black Snake).
Anthony’s service, which costs $80, starts with a thorough search for the snake.
For example, the Pratten Street eastern brown last week was assumed to have gone but Anthony found it asleep under a pile of leaves.
Once found, Anthony retrieves the reptile and takes it away to be humanely released into a suitable habitat.
For more information on Anthony’s service, check out his Facebook page or text him on 047 804 7457.
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TIES WITH SIDE STORY
Captions:
1. Registered snake catcher Anthony Adams
2. The eastern brown captured in Pratten St, Warwick, last week
3. The blue belly black snake, common in Toowoomba, but likes the dry paddocks of the Southern Downs.
