Snakes for Africa

01/11/2024

First callout of the day. It was reportedly a "Black Mamba coiled up in a wine rack."
Although I was pretty certain it would not be a mamba, judging by the area, I have learnt that to most people "a snake is a snake" and they don't care. They just want it out.
It was a Brown House Snake. A common harmless species. Adult males are smaller than adult females, and at 720mm this was a big male.

27/10/2024

A few days ago I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Compton-Jones, owner of JETBeam South Africa and spoke to him about a sponsorship arrangement for me. I knew he already sponsored fellow snake catcher Nick Evans- Snake Rescuer , and without hesitation he offered to give me a headlamp and a Jetbeam tactical torch.
Imagine my excitement and joy when I received a callout just before midnight on Sunday night to go and catch a young python in a chicken run, in a local rural township, and was afforded the opportunity to put these amazing lights to the test.
What a treat indeed! I drove for about half an hour to arrive at the location, and had to walk another 500m down an incredibly steep sandy slope to the house. The torch lit the way like sunshine on a sunny day. On arrival at the chicken run, I donned the headlamp, enabling me to use both hands to open the chicken run and extricate the python. The python was quickly retained in a carrier drum and the now deceased chicken left for the bereaved owners to dispose of.
Anyway. I was really impressed with these lights. They are rechargeable using a standard C-type charger that Android phones have been using for some time, and even Apple phones have now started using. Happy days!
I have always said that the most used item in my snake catching arsenal is a torch.

17/10/2024

A Mozambique Spitting Cobra disrupted construction work on the side of the N3 freeway near Hammarsdale this morning. It caused workers to flee in panic and it took refuge amongst some loose rocks. They were adamant it was a Black Mamba, but that first photo I took was literally half a second before it sprayed my phone with venom. That was the last shot I allowed it to take and I was able to extricate it quite easily.

14/10/2024

A couple were sitting in their lounge on a Sunday afternoon, as one does, when they heard a commotion with their dogs in the front garden. As they looked up to see what was going on, a 2.4m Black Mamba slithered through their security gate into the house and down the passage. The people closed all the doors and phoned me immediately. On arrival I did a cursory check of the first 3 rooms, saw nothing, closed the doors and went into the 4th room. I heard something moving and there it was, under the bed!
A fairly quick and easy catch, and the dogs are fine as well.

14/08/2024

It's not every day you find a snake hanging out in your local grocery store. This little Spotted Rock (House) snake was seen crawling underneath a fridge in the checkout section of a local store yesterday afternoon. The area was cordoned off and the shoppers made aware, mainly by the screams of the staff! Reports ranged from a reasonable half metre, speckled brown snake to a 2 metre black snake.
I was called, and on site within 12 minutes. Moved a fridge and there it was. About 70cm speckled brown snake. Harmless. A locally common species.
The snake was detained and questioned, but released without charges being pressed. It will shop elsewhere in future.

21/05/2024

A quick little evening callout. Spotted Rock snake/house snake in a bedroom cupboard. A harmless species that feeds mainly on geckos, but also takes rodents, small birds and I've even caught one eating a bat!

25/08/2023

Watch on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNT4nW3ePc8
Listen on Audio Pod: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pawsandeffect/episodes/A-Snake-Care-Primer--Snakes-for-Africa-e28cjel

🎙️ Attention all snake enthusiasts and pet lovers! 🐍🎉 Dive into the captivating world of snake husbandry with a special episode on the "Paws and Effect Podcast." Join our very own Dr. Carra and the expert Byron from Snakes for Africa as they unravel the secrets of responsible snake ownership.

🐍🏠 From selecting the perfect snake for your child to handling common challenges like escapes and feeding issues, this episode is a treasure trove of practical advice and valuable insights. Whether you're a seasoned snake keeper or a curious beginner, this discussion is a must-listen.

📢 Ready to enhance your snake care knowledge? Click the links above to watch the full episode and embark on a journey of better understanding and care for your slithery companions. 🎧🐍 Let's raise the bar for snake husbandry together!

12/07/2023

Every now and then I attend a callout where I'm not sure if they really actually saw a snake or if they just want their room/garage etc cleared our and think there might be a snake in there.
Today was one of those days. Except I don't even think they thought there might be a snake. It just seemed like hard work.
Anyway. I cleared the room and there was no snake. Approximately 2 tons of paper but no snake. Not even a rat.

29/03/2023

Into darkest Africa we went this evening to catch another python in a vegetable garden where it was hunting chickens or goats.
I had to jump over a 2.4m fence and wrestle the 3.5m python as it tried to make an escape.

26/03/2023

While normal people are sleeping, I'm off catching a big Spitting Cobra at 2am.
Their dogs alerted them to the snake's presence, and got spat in their eyes for their trouble.

22/03/2023

Snakes are not the brightest of animals. This Spotted House(Rock) snake found itself stuck in a hole in an aluminum sliding door. We managed to lift the door out of the runner and manipulated the snake loose. The home owner was prepared to cut the door, but fortunately I was able to push the poor snake backwards.
It was obviously fairly painful being stuck there as the snake bit me several times, and these little guys very seldom actually bite. Anyway, it is out and it is fine. Slight scale damage and bruising, but nothing serious

22/03/2023

Big python gave me a bit of a tough time. It ate two chickens and got stuck in a fence.

https://youtu.be/zpeZTjFY_Sg

13/03/2023

One of my least favourite callouts is where the snake has gone under a built-in cupboard. This usually results in the unpleasant task of actually breaking the floor out, or sometimes demolishing the entire cupboard. This depends on how serious the people are about getting the snake out. Obviously I try the least intrusive methods first but I must admit that I have, on occasion, completely destroyed a kitchen or a bathroom cupboard.
Anyway, I have had two such calls recently. One on Saturday night was amazingly quick and easy. I like quick and easy. I poked my snake stick into a gap under the cupboard and snake shot out. A 76cm male Brown House Snake. This is really large for a male, by the way.
Today's call started of even quicker and easier. This was pleasing. A snake was seen going into a hole in the base of a kitchen cupboard, in a local church! A snake in church!!!
As I arrived and opened the cupboard, there was the snake! I quickly reached into the hole and grabbed it. With lightning speed. A normal man would have missed it. It was a Brown watersnake. Another common harmless species. I shone my torch into the gap and saw a rats nest. I showed the people the snake and told them about the rats nest. Then I went to show them, and lo and behold, there was another snake!!! This one I missed and had to remove the rotten base of the cupboard. I caught the second snake, another Brown watersnake, and apologized to the people about the mess and the damaged cupboard. They said it was fine because they had been trying to motivate to get the cupboard repaired for quite some time. The lord works in mysterious ways. He sent snakes and a snake guy!

12/03/2023

Another episode in the exciting life of Byron. I got a call this morning to remove a Scary Thing (massive lizard) from an indoor fireplace in someone's house. They said The Scary Thing had been troubling them for some time now, and eventually they can actually see it and the fear is real. They sent me a photo and I tried to allay their fears, but to no avail. The fear the remained. It took me all of 3.4 seconds to remove the poor trapped lizard from its place of refuge. It is a female tree agama.
From snakes to frogs to lizards it seems I can catch anything. Except covid. I still haven't caught that.

10/03/2023

Sometimes days start off badly and just get worse. This is one of those days.
I got a call to catch "something" under a fridge. Something scary. On the way there I got a flat tyre and didn't realize it till I had completely destroyed it. I then discovered my wheelspanner, although great for catching mambas, doesn't fit my nuts. Well. Not my nuts, my wheel nuts. Anyway. Someone stopped to help and I went on to catch the Scary Thing. It was a frog.
Not going into detail, but I then had an altercation with a Very Large Man over a minor incident that could have been handled better.
Gosh. Anywaaaaaay.. at least my tyre was cheaper than I expected. Sorted out quickly at Hi-Q Hillcrest. Thanks Kevin Tarboton

28/02/2023

The latest capture/release video. The caller did most of the filming.
Mozambique Spitting Cobra in the Cliffdale area of KZN.

Snakes for Africa.Byron Zimmerman. Kwa Zulu Natal , South Africa

20/02/2023

That face you make when the "patch of grass" that the caller said the snake went into is a little bigger than you anticipated.

19/02/2023

I am eventually trying this YouTube thing. Please have a look at this and follow or subscribe.

Byron Zimmerman of Snakes for Africa captures and removes a python that is causing Chickens 🐔 restless days and nights.

26/01/2023

A day of green snakes! Here's a nice comparison of two different species of green snakes I caught in the space of half an hour this afternoon. The first was a Spotted Bush snake in a bathroom, second was a Boomslang in a small tree. The skinny one is the Bush snake. Harmless. The bigger one is the Boomslang, a deadly species but unlikely to bite.
Interestingly, the Boomslang is the second one in the same tree this week. The previous one was a female. This one is a male.

11/01/2023

An interesting start to my day.
Last night I phoned and booked my car in to have the brakes done, and took all my catching equipment out. On the way to the mechanic I got a callout for a snake in the bathroom. The caller said it's a big mamba. I changed course and arrived at the house a few minutes later, to an incredibly steep driveway and my brakes aren't great. Anyway, I parked safely at the bottom and reached behind the seat, as I always do, for my tongs and hookstick. Ah yes. I took them out, didn't I? Dammit. Well, I have a wheel spanner. It will have to do.
It did.
I managed to pull the mamba out fron behind the toilet and pin and neck it quite easily. Don't try this home. Always go to someone else's house.
Seriously, a normal man would have died.
The snake is a 1.6m black mamba. A deadly species.

15/09/2022

Last week Tyrone and I attended a callout where a Black Mamba had gone up into a roof. We spent some time looking but without success. The problem with snakes in the roof is that tyere arwle so many places to hide. These snakes are fairly habitual so I had a feeling we would be called back. Today was that day. Unfortunately it went back up into the roof again but Tyrone managed to get eyes on it, low down between the tiles and the insulation. It moved back and forth out of reach but eventually our patience was rewarded. It grew tired of our nonsense and decided to leave the roof.
Once it did that, the catch was fairly straightforward.

23/08/2022

A Herald snake halted work on a local construction site this morning. Fortunately I was able to remove it safely with my pink helmet on. Apparently the New Guy gets the pink helmet. Men wearing pink helmets are unlikely to do dangerous things.

10/02/2022

The last couple of days have provided some interesting callouts.
The first one was a report of a small snake that had gone under some cardboard last night. The area is enclosed (it wasn't.)
There must have been 4 tons of cardboard. I was not informed that it was a recycling depot. 🙄
On arrival told them we would be wasting our time and they should call me if they see it again.
As I was about to leave I flipped a piece of board anyway, and there was the snake! Well. A snake. A little brown house snake. He looked like the guilty party.

The next one of special interest was a mamba that had gone under or behind a fridge. The room was also not secure, it was a wood and iron structure. We found no snake. That is not the interesting part. That happened when we were leaving, and the back left wheel slipped into a gulley. We tried to dig it out but to no avail and called on my good friend JP Wittstock to pull us out.

24/01/2022

The day of the Green Snakes. It started with a small Spotted Bush snake that I found incidentally under a pool filter cover while on a callout for a Night Adder, which had moved off before I got there.
Next was a big Spotted Bush snake in a bathroom. I actually had to call an Uber for this call as my car was having a minor issue attended to.
Then, last but not least, a nice big Boomslang in a cottage. I was pretty sure it would be another Bush Snake, but it was not.

20/01/2022

Late night callouts go from one extreme to another this week. Tuesday night was a 2.3m black mamba in a lounge in a guest lodge, last night was a 24cm Wolf snake that went underneath a built-in kitchen cupboard.
Tuesday night's was ironically quick and easy, done and dusted in less than 5 minutes. Last night took me nearly 40 minutes and I had to rip out the entire plinth under the cupboard to get the harmless little snake.
Also ironically, last night's complainants were more freaked out and more grateful than the mamba people, and I destroyed their kitchen!