Originally Posted by asprilla (Post 10314204)

Fits the description of a skink, such as this one:
http://www.wildlifeqld.com.au/Verreaux.html

Originally Posted by Kadphises (Post 10314569)

No, currently I don't (nearly there though). But before you give me any more of the you don't know what it's like attitude - as a child I lived in India and as a grown up I have worked outdoors in Sri Lanka, Syria and Africa. So yes, I know what snakes are and have seen plenty of deadly ones in my life, close and not so close. This does not change my basic attitude.

Snakes are generally not keen on humans and will avoid them where possible. Especially where small children are involved they will duck and slither away quickly in most cases, due to the noise. No I don't have small children, but in that case I'd have grabbed them and moved them inside for a bit and made a regular thing of telling and explaining to them not to touch or pick up.

Also, I might point out that I am not terribly keen on snakes - so this isn't coming from a snake lover.

Originally Posted by Kadphises (Post 10314531)

Ah. An interesting fact is that of the about 2 people a year who die of snake bites in Australia, they were either trying to handle them or kill them.

Originally Posted by Broad Shoulders (Post 10314577)

so you would be all too aware then that QLD is home to one of the most aggressive snakes on earth, in the Coastal Taipan? One that will actually attack if you so much as come within any close proximity. My point about you not being in Aus is more about the proximity of resources. Calling out a snake catcher is not as simple as making a call and waiting 5 mins for him to arrive. Mine would be a minimum of an hour wait by which time that snake is in a nice hiding place.

I am actually a snake lover. I educate myself as much as I can about them. I have a ridiculous amount of books on the subject and in the wilderness I treat them with the respect they deserve. However, I do not love them as much as I love my children, so if a choice needs to be made between the safety of my children or that of a snake then it is a fairly easy decision to make

Originally Posted by Kadphises (Post 10314632)

Plenty of noise should mostly drive them away.

Originally Posted by Alfresco (Post 10314570)

Thanks. It was defo a snake. and the tail taper off more. My have been preggas.

Originally Posted by asprilla (Post 10314793)

I know you said that it was definitely a snake... but could it have been one of these perhaps?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egernia_major


If not, then it might be one of these. Death adder. Very unlikely though.

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200806/r260601_1083484.jpg

Originally Posted by Alfresco (Post 10315752)

I reckon it was a Common Tree Snake.

http://www.arod.com.au/arod/pictures...atus-thumb.jpg

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 10312671)

I doubt it was anywhere near 8 feet but a nice looking snake. I have been called out in the past to catch a huge deadly snake at least 10 feet long to find a Carpet Python about 3 feet long at best. Rather than advise others not to run over a snake because it might get tangled up in the car its possibly best to discourage it because it is illegal to deliberately hurt a protected animal. Im amazed this was the first venomous snake you have seen in all those years, quite an achievement :)

Originally Posted by Broad Shoulders (Post 10315764)

I've seen a fair few of them around the traps. However they are very thin and slender, and certainly do not get as fat as the one you described.
I was lucky to get a beautiful photo of one of these in attack mode going for me. I was at a wedding at the Hyatt in Yeppoon, when I just looked down outside the chapel and noticed about a foot of snake poking out of a drain cover. I kept my distance until I was safe in the knowledge of what type it was and then also understanding that it was stuck. It had obviously gone down there to feed on a frog or something else and had become too fat to get itself back out again.
So after a few more minutes of gauging how far out it could get, I got close enough so that I could get a good shot but not get bitten and the result was the snake trying to dart for me, but not having the reach to get me.

My favourite snake encounter was on an island off the coast of the New Caledonia mainland. There were sea snakes everywhere. You literally couldn't walk more than 10m without seeing one, and their colours and nature were amazing! Such docile and inquisitive snakes, yet extremely deadly if they need to be. One came swimming right up to me when I was in the water, no more than about a foot away from my arm before I decided that was about as close as I wanted to be and swam away

Originally Posted by sammax (Post 10316179)

I saw a brown coloured snake cross my path in my first year here, and I've always wondered if it was a "brown" snake. I don't think it was anywhere near as big or long as the one in the picture - do they come up smallish as well?? Other than that, in nearly ten years all I've seen is a range of dodgy spiders.

Originally Posted by sammax (Post 10316179)

I saw a brown coloured snake cross my path in my first year here, and I've always wondered if it was a "brown" snake. I don't think it was anywhere near as big or long as the one in the picture - do they come up smallish as well?? Other than that, in nearly ten years all I've seen is a range of dodgy spiders.

Originally Posted by Broad Shoulders (Post 10316346)

Brown snakes are rarely actually brown in colour. In fact most snakes, especially those in Aus aren't really recognisable by colour, as each species will have different shades of colour. The only one that I can think that is consistent in colour is the Red-bellied Black.

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 10314730)

Unfortunately with them being deaf the noise isnt an issue for them but venomous snakes especially tend to avoid areas with lots of activity, the non venomous pythons will happily settle in places with lots of activity as they arent as highly strung as the majority of venomous snakes.