Sydney Snakes

Deputy Editor Kayleigh Greig gives readers a comprehensive guide on Sydney snakes and busts some common snake myths, drawing on her expert knowledge as a volunteer for Sydney Wildlife Rescue and a resident snake lover!

As a snake-catcher, I’ve heard every myth in the book. So, I figured it’s about time to finally do a full article on our scaly friends in Sydney, and clear up some of those misunderstandings surrounding a creature that is truly fascinating and beautiful.

Myth Busting

Myth: Snakes are slimy

Any land-dwelling snake is actually smooth and dry, though this myth may have arisen from the way their scales glisten beautifully in the light. If you get a snake at just the right angle, you can see an iridescent rainbow sheen. Snake scales are primarily made of keratin, the same thing as hair and nails.

The only Sydney snakes that might be considered slimy-ish are sea snakes, because obviously, they’re wet. The most common sea snakes we get around Sydney include the Yellow-bellied sea snake and sometimes the Elegant sea snake, with sightings of several others.

Myth: Snakes are cold-blooded

Snakes are only sometimes cold-blooded. They’re ectothermic, ‘ecto’ meaning ‘outside’ and ‘thermic’ meaning ‘temperature’, so their blood temperature corresponds to the weather. We as humans are endothermic, meaning we regulate our own body temperature through mechanisms like sweating or shivering, but snakes have to warm up by basking in the sun or cool down by hiding in a shady crevice.

Myth: I found a baby brown snake!

Eastern brown snakes are actually stripy when they’re babies, so if you find a small, brown snake in Sydney, it is most likely a Golden-crowned snake, a Marsh snake, or a Yellow-faced Whip snake, all of which have only mild to medium venom—nothing fatal like an Eastern Brown.

Myth: Snakes always lay eggs

Actually, some snakes are viviparous, meaning that they give birth to live young just like us! Red bellies are one such example. Most snakes are egg-layers (oviparous), though the eggs aren’t like chickens’ ones with hard shells—they’re soft and leathery. Another fun fact? The word for a pregnant reptile is ‘gravid.’

Myth: If there’s a baby, there’s a mother

Most snakes aren’t at all maternal, so when one lays eggs (or gives birth), it slithers off and has nothing more to do with its offspring. Diamond python mothers will sometimes coil around and incubate their eggs until they hatch, but after that, they have no role in raising the babies—they either get eaten by kookaburras or survive on their own. Since Aussie snakes are solitary animals, you don’t have to worry about any sort of snake nest, den, or pit.

Myth: Snakes are poisonous

Poison is ingested; venom is injected. Provided that you didn’t have any cuts in your mouth or digestive tract, you could technically drink a litre of venom and be completely fine (but hear me loud and clear: please don’t). The only snakes in Australia that can actually be poisonous—meaning harmful to eat—are keelback snakes, as they eat cane toads. So, when people say “poisonous” snakes, they usually mean venomous.

There are three main types of snakes. Elapids subdue their prey with venom, including red bellies, eastern browns, golden crowns, etc. Constrictors catch food by squeezing and suffocating prey, such as the diamond python. Colubrids are mostly small, harmless snakes, though a few have mild venom. Examples are the brown tree snake and green tree snake.

Myth: Venom travels through the bloodstream

Venom actually travels through the lymphatic system, which is responsible for immunity and body fluid regulation. The lymphatic system is stimulated when moving muscles and increasing heart rate.

Myth: You have to suck out the venom

This simply doesn’t work, and it puts whoever is sucking out the venom in danger of absorbing it through any cuts or ulcers in their mouth, and risks exchanging blood-borne diseases. It’s also gross and probably painful.

Myth: A snake bite is a death sentence

This one is rarely true. Australia is home to roughly nine out of the top ten most venomous snakes. Lists vary, but most are calculated according to the LD50 test: the dose required to kill half of a test group, generally of mice. Here’s the list of most venomous snakes from the Snakes of Australia app:

1.  Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) – Australian, not in Sydney

2. Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) – Australian, present in Sydney

3. Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) – Australian, not in Sydney

4.   Eastern Mainland Tiger Snake (Notechis s. scutatus) – Australian, present in Sydney

5. Reevesby Island Tiger Snake (Notechis ater niger) – Australian, not in Sydney

6. Beaked Sea Snake (Enhydrina schistosa) – Can be found around Australia, not Sydney

7. Western Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus occidentalis) – Australian, not in Sydney

8. Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) – Southern African

9. Chappell Island Tiger Snake (Notechis ater serventyi) – Australian, not in Sydney

10. Common Death Adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) – Australian, present in Sydney

One of our other Sydney regulars, the Red-bellied Black Snake, comes in at number 22. The Copperhead from the Blue Mountains region is number 12, and the Eastern Small Eyed snake (which looks like a red belly after taking its glasses off) is number 23. Despite the shocking toxicity of venom our little creatures can pack, snake bite statistics show that few people actually die from snake bites in Australia nowadays. About 3,000 snake bites occur each year in Aus, only 13% of which require antivenom. Only about two of those bites result in fatalities.^[1] By comparison, horses cause ten times that many deaths in Australia per year. Cows and dogs are also far more common killers than snakes.^[2]

The reason the death toll is so low is that many snake bites are either not from fatally venomous species, are “dry” non-envenomated bites, or are quickly responded to with appropriate first aid and possibly antivenom.

Myth: If you get envenomated by a snake, you’re always given antivenom

Antivenom is actually more of a last resort than a given for snake-bite recipients. It’s made by injecting small amounts of snake venom into horses, allowing the horses to build up immunity, and then drawing the horses’ blood to get said immunity. As you can imagine, animal blood can cause some severe anaphylactic reactions for those unlucky enough to be allergic to it, and often it’s better to simply allow the body to gradually work through the snake venom by loosening the compression bandage over time, regularly taking blood tests to check venom levels, and generally remaining under close hospital supervision.

Myth: Snake catchers must always have antivenom on hand

For the reasons above, antivenom is not something safe to self-administer. It’s not like an EpiPen—more like a risky drug with complicated dose rates. It’s expensive, difficult to produce, and has a shelf life of only about 2–5 years, so it makes more sense for a bitten catcher to simply go to the hospital and let the medical professionals make the call.

Myth: Snakes are out to get us

Snakes don’t ‘chase’ people or lie in wait to ambush us. They’re very shy and want little to do with humans in general. Whenever they’re disturbed, a snake’s first instinct is to slither away and hide. If you back them into a corner where they can’t escape, that’s when they’ll start to hiss, flatten their neck to make themselves look bigger, and raise their head to eyeball you. This is all a bluff act; they’re trying to scare you off, not get more involved with you. If you still don’t get the hint, they’ll curve back into an S-bend, where their whole body is brimming with obvious tension like a coiled spring. They may begin to strike at the air, and if that fails to get you to back off, they may headbutt you without actually sinking their teeth in. After that, they’ll bite. But about half of bites will actually be ‘dry bites’ where the snake (if it is a venomous species) won’t even bother to inject venom. After all, that venom is for hunting prey. It’s energetically costly to produce, so why waste it on a human being who has no chance of ever swallowing it? A snake will only ever inject venom if it feels like you’re trying to kill it.

Myth: It’s heroic to kill a snake

Not only is it immoral to kill an animal for existing, it’s actually illegal. Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act of 2016, harming or killing snakes without formal approval is a serious offence. The penalties can be steep, including a fine of up to $22,000 and two years of imprisonment for aggravated animal cruelty.

Don’t risk harm to yourself or an innocent animal—just call a snake catcher. I volunteer for Sydney Wildlife Rescue, and we catch snakes for free. Just call the hotline on 9413 4300, and a rescuer will come out and grab it as soon as possible; just be aware that our goal is animal rescue, and sick or injured snakes will be prioritised over ones that are simply an inconvenience to you. You can also call WIRES (1300 094 737) or a professional (paid) company such as Sydney Snake Catcher (1300 599 938) or Reptile Relocation Sydney (0455 570 000). There’s no need for you ever to approach a snake when there are so many trained snake handlers out there bursting with excitement to help. Seriously, getting a snake callout makes my day!

Myth: A snake could eat my baby/dog/cat

There are no snakes in Sydney that are big enough to eat a human baby, so have no fear. Your cavoodle and cat are also more likely to harm a python than the other way around. As for any smaller pets, it’s very important to keep a close eye on them when they’re outdoors, and ensure any enclosures are free of even the smallest of gaps a snake might squeeze through. Sadly, I’ve had to relocate a very fat, happy python out of an aviary with seventeen fewer zebra finches than when it entered, and another one that ate two beloved bunnies out of a backyard.

As for venomous snakes such as red bellies, their bites can and do result in pet deaths every year. But it’s not because the red bellies want to eat them—they can’t. Usually, dogs or cats try to play with or hunt snakes, not knowing the danger, and when a pet gets bitten, it usually means the snake has been injured and had to fight back as a last resort. So for the good of both parties, please respond quickly whenever your pet gets too interested in something hiding in the bush.

What to do if you encounter a snake?

Situations differ, but if you see a snake far away enough that it can’t strike you, simply admire it from afar—it’s not every day you get to see one! Then, slowly back away. If it’s in your house, call a snake catcher. If it’s in your garden, consider first whether it really needs to be removed, as snakes need somewhere to live too, and what better place than outside, getting rid of rats?

If you accidentally stumble into a snake’s strike zone—the range within which they might be able to bite you—freeze. Snakes are frightened by sudden movements, much like you would be if someone next to you flinched suddenly. A snake has no reason to bite a tree, so be a tree. Simply stand still and remain calm until the snake has slithered away.

What to do if you are bitten by a snake?

It kills me to keep talking about bites, because snakes are so much more than human-biting machines, but sometimes accidents happen, and if one does occur, the first step is to slowly move away from the snake. Once in a safe area, wrap a compression bandage around the bite site to hold the venom in place, going all the way up the limb. If you have two bandages, use the first for the bite site, then the second for the rest of the arm or leg. If you have no bandages, improvise with shirts, jackets, etc. The application of a compression bandage is the biggest factor in slowing the spread of the venom.

Since venom moves through the lymphatic system, which is stimulated by muscle movement and heart rate, it is also crucial to remain still and calm. Avoid any movement of the limb. When some Aboriginal people were bitten before colonisation, they would cleverly survive by simply lying motionless on the ground for whole days. Remember that most bites are dry bites, and fatalities only occur when help isn’t sought, so there’s no need to stress. Once bandaged, call for an ambulance.

Snakes in the Sydney Area

Now onto the fun bit! Here are some of the most common snakes you can expect to find in Sydney. Despite my assessments on how harmless certain species are, or my anecdotes about catching them as a trained snake catcher, please remember that you should never touch a wild snake of any kind.

Diamond Python

Morelia spilota spilota

(Non-venomous)

These are by far the most common callouts I get, despite being one of the only non-venomous species in Sydney, and the only native python. Diamonds are actually great housemates as they eat up rats and other rodents, and generally keep well to themselves. They love to climb and can mostly be found in trees or on rooftops. They’re the largest snake in Sydney, easily identified by their blue-black bodies covered in yellow spots.

Red-bellied Black Snake

Pseudechis porphyriacus

(Highly venomous)

Also widespread, red bellies don’t even need to be described—it’s in the name. Temperament-wise, they tend to be quite shy and will speed off when disturbed. Most people encounter them when they almost step on the poor guys, as sometimes they can’t move away fast enough when they’re still groggy and cold.

Green Tree Snake

Dendrelaphis punctulatus

(Non-venomous)

Quite common, these thin, harmless noodles often get stuck in sliding doors or in other inopportune places they accidentally find themselves in. They’re very speedy, bright green with yellow bellies, and appear like vines. They also release a hideous smell called ‘musk’ if you pick them up.

Golden-crowned Snake

Cacophis squamulosis

(Mildly venomous)

Crownies sometimes have very pink stomachs and dark brown backs, causing them to be confused for baby red bellies, but they have a distinctive golden marking on top of their head. When touched, they will wriggle furiously and put on a good show, but rarely bite. If they do, their venom is mild, much like a bee sting. They are commonly found in flower pots, old boxes in the garage, or near creeks where they eat small frogs and skinks.

Marsh Snake/Black-bellied Swamp Snake

Hemiaspis signata

(Mildly venomous)

It can be distinguished from other small, brown-coloured snakes by the two white stripes on its face—one through its eye and the other on its top lip. They are subdued, cute snakes, mostly found hiding in gardens where they feed on skinks and frogs.

Yellow-faced Whip Snake

Demansia psammophis

(Moderately venomous)

Less commonly seen, these guys are thin and range from light grey to light brown. They can be easily identified by a brown comma shape around their eye. Bites can be rather painful, but not fatal. Behaviour-wise, they act like they’re in the middle of a caffeine-induced nervous breakdown, with quick, jerky movements.

Eastern Brown Snake

Pseudonaja textilis

(Highly venomous)

Adults are dark to light brown, up to 1.5 metres long. Babies are usually striped, with an especially dark black cap on the head and nape. Their movements are erratic, and they use scare tactics like rearing up and lunging to warn people off, sometimes giving the impression that they are aggressive or prone to “chasing”, which is untrue. They aren’t found in many Sydney suburbs—mostly in Duffy’s forest, Terry Hills, and Western suburbs such as Marsden Park. They like open areas, such as farmland.

Brown Tree Snake

Boiga irregularis

(Mildly venomous)

Found in St Ives, Scotland Island, Baulkham Hills, and further West. These are wiry, smallish, arboreal (tree-climbing) snakes, ranging from brown to vaguely orange, with amusingly large eyes and bobble-heads.

Common Death Adder

Acanthophis antarcticus

(Highly venomous)

The fastest-striking snake in the world, but one of the slowest-slithering, the death adder hides under leaf litter and uses its worm-like tail as a lure to catch birds. I know of sightings in Terrey Hills and on Scotland Island, but in general, it is a rare find. It is short, chunky, with a triangular head. Colour ranges from brown to grey to a gorgeous rusty red.

Eastern Mainland Tiger Snake

Notechis s. scutatus

(Highly venomous)

Also rare to find in Sydney, these guys are long, thick, proper snakes with some real strength in them. They’re the only big snakes around here with rather yellow bellies and stripes all along their body, though markings can be more subtle on some, especially when in shed. I’ve heard of sightings in Terrey Hills.

Eastern Bandy-bandy

Vermicella annulata

(Mildly venomous)

A bit of a unicorn, bandy-bandies are very rarely seen as they burrow underground, feeding exclusively on worm-like blind snakes. They are visually delightful, with crisp black and white banding that gives them the appearance of liquorice.

Highland Copperhead

Austrelaps ramsayi

(Highly venomous)

These are found more in the Southern Highlands and Blue Mountains, preferring cooler climates. They are dark to light brown, often found with a more rusty red hue on the sides.

Broad-headed Snake

Hoplocephalus bungaroides

(Highly venomous)

You’re unlikely to see these, as they are critically endangered and only found on the edges of Sydney. With their black bodies and spotted yellow stripes, don’t confuse them for a diamond python. Like all elapids, they have broader belly scales than pythons.  

Endnotes:

[1] Rogers, C. (2025, January 16). 16 Australian Snakebite Statistics to Know in 2025: Rates, Deaths & FAQ. Pangovet. https://info.pangovet.com/statistics/snake-bite-statistics-australia/ 

[2] Solano, G. et al. (2024, March 13). African polyvalent antivenom can maintain pharmacological stability and ability to neutralise murine venom lethality for decades post-expiry: evidence for increasing antivenom shelf life to aid in alleviating chronic shortages. BMJ Global Health. https://gh.bmj.com/content/9/3/e014813