KRM Branch 17 October 2022
The October General Meeting saw guest speaker Tammy Goad, who stepped in when the scheduled speaker was called away to do a survey and deliver a PowerPoint presentation on Reptiles. Tammy works within the Native Species Breeding Program as part of the Perth Zoo Science team.
Tammy started with a few slides that answered the question, ‘What is a reptile?’. In summary, a reptile is a vertebrate animal that is an ectotherm. They rely on external heat and cooling sources to regulate their body temperature, and they typically shed their skin all at once, unlike mammals and birds that shed skin cell by cell. Tammy had brought some shed skins that were passed around the audience.
The presentation then moved on to discuss venomous snakes. In Australia, we have Elapids, front fanged, and Colubrids, rear fanged. In the Perth area, there are five species of concern. Of these, the Dugite, Western Tiger Snake and Death Adder are the most common, with the other two species being the Gwardar (or Western Brown) and the Mulga Snake (or King Brown, though they are, in fact, from the black snake family). The non-venomous snakes of the Perth area are the two pythons, the South-western Carpet Python (a threatened species) and the Stimson’s Python (found north of Perth).
The next grouping to be discussed was Australia’s 46 species of Legless Lizards. The most common locally is Burton’s Legless Lizard. There are three monitor lizards to be found in the Perth area. These are the Southern Heath Monitor (Varanus rosenbergi) and Gould’s Monitor (Varanus gouldii), both growing to a length of 150cm, and the Black-headed Monitor (Varanus tristis), an arboreal species that grows to around 76cm. Tammy then presented slides providing details of the Western Bobtail or Shingleback Lizard. These are masters of defence. Tammy advised that if moving one, e.g. off a road, grab it behind the neck; otherwise, it will turn and bite you. The bobtails found on Rottnest Island are smaller and darker. The Western Bluetongue Lizard is restricted to the Swan Coastal Plain and occurs in many habitats, including coastal dunes. They are diurnal and omnivorous. The other large skink found locally is the King’s Skink. It is also found on Rottnest Island. Tammy provided some advice if you have to handle a reptile, saying you should never hold a lizard by the tail as it may drop it as a defence mechanism, and always secure the dangerous parts such as the mouth and claws. When out walking, signs of reptiles may be tracks in sandy patches, droppings (solid with urates, like a bird’s), and diggings such as in sand near roads or in termite mounds and slough or shed skin.
Tammy then provided some information on snake behaviour and keeping snakes away from your house (snakes will only hang around if there is food and or safe hiding places). Advice on what to do if you see a snake included: back away slowly if more than a metre away, or else stay still if closer; once out of danger, alert others; keep an eye on it from a distance; and if on your property call a snake re-locater. To prevent snake bites, wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, gloves and boots when walking or volunteering in nature reserves. Don’t put your hands anywhere you cannot see, and watch where you are walking. Tammy then went over first aid for snake bites and showed the type of compression bandage she uses, one with a pattern on one side that, when stretched, becomes a series of squares; this is the correct tension.
Tammy finished off her presentation by bringing out a Black-headed Python for the audience to handle and showed us the Tiger Snake and Death Adder that were in display cases, plus a Bobtail and a Blue Tongue Lizard. The audience thanked Tammy for the presentation.
Colin Prickett