A snakes new favourite spot is the toilet bowl…
Watch: What to do if you’re bitten by a snake
Summer means more snake sightings
Finding a snake in your home has become more and more common during the end of 2023 and the start of the new year.
TikTok and other social media platforms have become awash with videos of snakes hiding in roofs, gutters and even in the toilet bowl, everyone has begun to ask the question: where are all the snakes coming from?
The main reason for increased snake activity is actually due to the weather. Hot and humid conditions bring the snakes out of their nests and into the public looking for sunny spots to lie in and food to eat.
Lynleigh Grieg, co-manager of the Sydney Wildlife Rescue Mobile Care Unit goes into detail about why snakes are spotted more often during summer. Snakes are not ‘cold-blooded’ but instead ‘ectothermic’, which Grieg describes as a reliance on “an external source for their heating/cooling (thermoregulation).If the air around their body is hot, their blood is hot; if the air around their body is cold, their blood is cold.”
This means they move from extreme cold to extreme heat to maintain the right temperatures. Grieg explains that “the hotter they are, the more active they are and the more they are able to perform daily activities such as hunting for food. This is why they are seen more often in summer.”
This is especially the case when it is raining. Homeowners in Queensland have been warned to be on the look out for snakes near their homes as severe storms continue to bombard north-eastern cities.
Snakes often become displaced by storms, according to owner of South East Reptile Relocations Mitch Thornburn. Speaking to news.com.au about the issue, he said “the recent storms we’ve had on the Gold Coast have really brought them out as well. You get all the frog eating species out and about at the moment, eating frogs as well.”
Just as Mr Thornburn states, the increased number of frogs and tasty morsels for snakes to eat will also draw out these unwanted houseguests. And although snakes love a good frog to eat, they’re also prone to looking for food in the most unusual of places, the toilet bowl.
Public toilets are a snakes heaven
Tennille Bankes, a wildlife carer and snake catcher, spoke to SBS about a snake’s favourite hangout spot being the public toilet. She explains that, “There’s lots of mosquitoes, lots of moths and things hanging around in the lights of public toilets, so the frogs go in there … That is what attracts the snakes; the snakes go in because they’re after the frogs.”
Lynleigh Grieg from Sydney Wildlife Rescue confirms this by explaining that, “Rats and possums are often found around public toilets so they attract the snakes and goannas. (Snakes don’t eat insects and spiders but frogs do and many snakes enjoy frogs for dinner.)”
Of course, the weather plays an important factor too, with the rain bringing out the frogs in the first place.
Bankes comments that toilets and toilet bowls are common places for snakes to be found because they’re a great water source. They can both drink from a toilet bowl and use the water to soak their bodies before shedding.
What to do if you find a snake in your loo
The best thing to do if you come across a snake in your home toilet or public bathroom is, of course, to leave it alone. Once spotted, most snakes will try to retreat and leave an area.
However, if you wish to have a snake removed from your property, it is always recommended that you call your local snake catcher or wildlife professional. Lynleigh Grieg recommends “closing the bathroom door and bathroom windows and popping a rolled-up towel along the bottom of the door to stop it sneaking out into the rest of the house.” After that, contact a professional snake wrangler for removal.
If you find a snake in a public toilet, you can also contact your local council for the best advice moving forward.
Do not attempt to move or kill a snake yourself. It is best to keep your distance and phone a professional snake handler to assess the situation properly.
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