mfesharne

Snake time again folks which means it’s time for me to suggest that if you come across one here in Portugal the best thing to do is not to panic & there’s rarely any need to even disturb it, let alone kill it just for being a snake & doing what snakes do.
There is only one species of snake native to Portugal that is liable to give a healthy adult any serious problems and that is the Lataste’s Viper & it’s easily identifiable by the rhino horn like protuberance on his nose. Don’t go by colour, skin pattern or anything else because as you’ll see in the videos below there’s sometimes not much difference between the Lataste’s Viper & some of the others. ALWAYS look for that horn.
If you do need to move a snake, it can be done quite easily with a long handled broom or a long garden cane & all you have to do is just gently guide it the way you want it to go & if you’re really uncomfortable doing that then I’m sure that if you call the GNR, Bombeiros or our local vet on a NON emergency number then I’m sure they’ll probably have contact details for someone you can call to move it for you.
Gloves & wellies might be a good idea before you start the job.
If you’re in the Figueiro Dos Vinhos and/or Pedrogao Grande areas & surrounds you can contact me & I’ll do my best to come out to catch & relocate the snake for you.
NOTE: There’s rarely any reason to treat any indigenous snake here with fear but there is always a reason to treat them with respect because if nothing else, there’s always the remote possibility that some halfwit just might have released a non native, venomous snake into the wild because they have decided they no longer want it.
Feel free to pass this onto anyone you wish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1iUk9bFnok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISCYlVAdciw

macliam

I agree with this - here we have scorpions too .... "deadly" say the neighbours, just like the geckos whose sole purpose in life is to spit in your eye and blind you, it seems.

I've watched the neighbours cat "playing" with a fairly large scorpion - which only seemed to be trying to escape (I didn't see a single strike). The cat is still alive and murdering songbirds.

Even Lataste's viper will try to escape, rather than strike, but they are VERY defensive if you corner them or threaten their hiding places and will strike multiple times until they drive you away.

So be careful around woodpiles and don't stick your unprotected hand into any large cracks or holes.

EMR

Don,t forget the spiders, oh saving one from being crushed in a door received a nasty bite, painfull swollen hand for a couple of days, then their are the centipedes.
But then our UK golf club was an adder hotel.
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