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There are few places in the world that haven’t been colonised by snakes and other reptiles. Snakes can be even found in cities, although it is only the friendlier ones that usually survive our wrath. However, if you want to find a few of the more uncommon snakes, you could look in parks and fields, on beaches or in rivers and ponds and even in the sea, depending on where you live, naturally, as sea snakes tend to live in warmer, tropical waters.

You will need to be very alert and train your eyes to spot even the smallest movement. Wear clothing of dull, drab colours and move slowly, stopping often to listen for movement in the grass or bushes. In the beginning, you will have many false hopes, until you learn to differentiate between the noises of the different animals that live or hunt in the grass.

Snakes are hard to find, because most of the adventurous snakes get killed by frightened (and often ignorant) humans, but a good tip is to look for relatively damp areas in arid regions and, conversely, dry spots in damp areas. Look for where their prey might congregate. For instance, near water for toads and frogs. Look out for frightened lizards or birds fleeing for their lives. And listen out for geckos warning each other of the presence of a predatory snake.

If you must move anything, at least don’t damage it and furthermore, ensure you put it back as you found it. Two useful tools to have while out looking for snakes and other reptiles are binoculars (for tree snakes) and a snake-hook, which should also be used for moving bits of debris so that you don’t risk getting bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion. A camera, a torch and a notebook and pen are more or less essential, depending on how seriously you treat your hobby of herpetology.

You could also take a rule or tape to measure your specimens and a few plastic bags and boxes to hold them while you are doing it. Do not kill anything and do not take anything home with you either! Apart from it not being right to wander into their territory and cause them harm, it is often against the law too. Be very wary of handling any snake that you cannot 100% positively identify as non-venomous. You could be miles from anywhere and will probably not have anti-venom with you. Since many snakes can kill within 30 minutes, you would probably die.

In summary, go looking for snakes by all means, but take it easy and slowly and wear inconspicuous clothing. Moreover, wear strong, hiking-style boots to give you some protection where you are most vulnerable and do not move anything you don’t have to. Take a snake-hook to move things if you need to; a tape, torch, camera, notebook and pen to record your experience and/or findings and a few clear plastic receptacles in case you feel that you need to pick something up.

I hope you enjoy your hunt for snakes and other reptiles, but remember that they are not friendly and they are definitely not pets and be wary of bites especially when your search is not taking place in the grounds of a hospital!

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