Share This

Showing posts with label Snakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snakes. Show all posts

Monday, May 22, 2023

How to minimise the risk of snakes entering homes

,

PETALING JAYA: The scorching heat has forced snakes to seek refuge in human homes.

Apart from dark corners, shoes are also a potential shelter for the reptiles, as seen in a video that went viral on social media earlier this month.

Fire and Rescue Department deputy director-general (operations) Datuk Edwin Galan Teruki said the department had received 13,895 distress calls from the public seeking help to remove snakes and other wildlife from their premises in the first four months of this year.

The figure shows an increasing trend, compared to 12,013 calls received in the same period last year.

Edwin advised the public to remain calm if they spot snakes in their homes. 


“Do not be rash or panic as this may threaten the snake and trigger its defence mechanism to attack.

“Be it venomous or not, be cautious and try to confine the snake in one area to make it easier for catchers to locate and remove it.

“Keep an eye on the snake from a safe distance,” he said, adding that the public could call the 999 emergency hotline for help.

Edwin added that good housekeeping could help deter snakes from entering and hiding in homes.

“Do not keep food waste in the open as it can attract rats, frogs or even lizards, which are prey for snakes.

“If you have livestock or pets, it is advisable to set up safety nets around their enclosures,” Edwin said.

In the case of a snake bite, limit movement, cover the wound with a clean cloth and never attempt to suck the venom out, he said.

As it can be difficult to determine whether a snake is venomous or not, Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia president and chief executive officer Andrew Sebastian said it is best to avoid close contact altogether.

“Take a picture of the snake. In the case of a snake bite, the photo can help identify the type of snake and the correct anti-venom,” he said.

Malaysia Civil Defence Force disaster management and operations director Col (PA) Sharudin Md Zain said houses, trash disposal areas, water outlets, shoes and toilet bowls could be the hiding place for snakes.

“Fixing safety nets at windows or ventilation and water outlets can be an option.

“Snakes may also be hiding inside shoes or the toilet, so check them before use,” he said, adding that the public should avoid touching or holding the animal.

Contrary to popular belief, Malaysian Nature Society’s Selangor Branch Herpetofauna Group lead coordinator Chan Yik Khan meanwhile dismissed the myth that sulphur could keep snakes away.

“Sulphur does not repel snakes. The most effective method is to make sure that the surroundings do not appeal to them.

“Remove unused flower pots and declutter the area,” he said.

Chan said snakes are generally timid creatures and prefer tight and dark spaces to hide in when they are not foraging.

“Snakes are incredibly adapted to urban environments and they are likely living around you already.

“This is why some people occasionally find snakes resting on their curtain frame,” he said.

He said the most common urban snakes include the common wolf snake, the reticulated pythons and a couple of rat snakes.

With regard to heat, Chan said snakes are exothermic animals, which means their body temperature is regulated by the external temperature in their environment.

“Snakes will try finding shelter under cooler conditions – which includes tiled homes, as compared to urban areas devoid of shade.

“Being able to escape from the blazing sun is vital for their survival or they may overheat and die,” he said. 

Source link

 

Related posts:

 

Reptiles sneak indoors to stay cool

  Unwelcome visitors: Officials removing snakes and a monitor lizard from houses in Penang     GEORGE TOWN: They come, they see, they hide....

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Snake, the most misunderstood of animals


There is the good as well as the bad aspects of the snake, more good in fact than evil

One of the most misunderstood, detested and ill-treated among animals is the snake!

Biblically, it was the “serpent”, whose intelligence may have exceeded man then, that persuaded Adam and Eve to take the forbidden fruit. Whether one believes in it literally or figuratively, the so-called downfall and condemnation of this species of animal began from that moment.

Once a beautiful creature, perhaps among the most beautiful, it was relegated to the ground, without feet, condemned to slithering and crawling on its whole physical frame, and indeed to this day, it can with great speed too.

Even to this day, some species of cobra and snakes display such majestic splendour and grace when upright and in its alert state.

Though a few species are poisonous, most bites are not lethal, even from so-called poisonous snakes, and most snakes do not bite unless stepped on or confronted.

Ironically, millions of people have died from the single bite of a mosquito from deadly malaria, dengue, and other mosquito borne disease, compared to those from snake bites.

Man’s two best friends, the dog and the horse, have caused far more deaths from their bites than the snake.

From the snake, medical science has learned a lot about blood-clotting and nerve paralysis, two of the common mechanisms of action of snake venom.

Apart from its purported medicinal value for the traditional practitioner, western medicine has also benefited from snake venom to produce antitoxins and other blood-clotting related medicines including the wonder clot-buster TPA.

Symbolically, snakes depict wisdom, strength and authority.

In the Old Testament, the stick of Moses became a snake, which outbattled the snakes of the magicians of Egypt.

It was the Almighty who sent snakes to punish the Israelites, and it was the intervention or intercession of Moses that saved them from attack and extinction by snake-bite.

A golden snake set on a pole was used and raised, so that any Israelite bitten by a snake could gaze at it, and be healed.

So, there is the good as well as the bad aspects of the snake, more good in fact than evil.

May this Lunar Year of the Snake be a partic`ULAR’ly spectac`ULAR’ year ahead!

By Dr KH SNG, The Star/Asia News Network

Related posts:
Fengshui: How the Water Snake year will be? 
Views by market research analysts, would the Snake bite 2013? 
Vowing to be different with the nuptials