The First Zebra (snake!)

So, we'd always heard that there are loads of snakes here, but until a good year in, we hadn't seen any. Again, it was of course after dark, and we'd just gotten into bed when we heard Bear and Kita barking. Coda never barks at anything :) and Cady was staying away, wary.

So, it was that bark that said "Something is not right, but it's not human." We dashed outside, grabbing plakkies along the way. 

There was at that point a wall around a very small concrete path that skirted the igloos. It was built with the rocks that are here on the plot naturally, almost like s dry-stone wall, and less than a foot high. The sand was then level with it towards the rest of the garden, and you stepped down into that path.

So, Bear and Kita were telling us that there was something very wrong with this rock. We did suspect snake, or scorpion perhaps, but whatever it was, if the dogs aren't happy, then we listen. I stepped closer, chasing the dogs away, and just saw a curl of a body slipping out from beneath the rock, with very distinct black and white stripes. It was a Zebra snake. 

Zebra's here are very aggressive, and there is no anti-venom. Sometimes people survive, and sometimes they don't. I know that the flesh goes black as the venom eats it and it rots on you. It's a cytotoxic venom.  

I do know that the chances of a dog surviving are minimal, and the venom when they spit, will also blind a dog sometimes, if not treated correctly. So I was not happy. 

Anyway, so Pio dashed for the shotgun like his tail was on fire. Now, I won't shoot a snake outside of my yard, but a mamba or a zebra will be, due to their aggression and the safety of my babies. We've done a lot to prevent them getting into the yard, and so, this is actually the first and only zebra (touch wood) that we've had in the garden - or seen anyway. 

So, while Pio was dashing for his shotgun, I grabbed the broom and waited, keeping Bear and Kita away from it. It was under the rock, but moving. When he came back, he held the gun ready, and I pushed the top rock off of the little ledge. 

That zebra came up spitting, but luckily because of the ledge, he missed us and spat straight into it. He wasn't huge, probably less than a meter, but seriously made up for size with a fiery will to kill anything in his path. 

Sadly, Pio shot him. We only used rubber bullets, but they did the job, and poor zebby went to snake heaven. 

The following day, the lady that helps me in the house while I'm working, spotted it and freaked, even though it was no longer with us. As I was explaining to her what had happened, Cady walked by me and brushed my leg with her tail .... I jumped about a foot in the air. Me and the maid died laughing after that! 

It was only after this experience, that we learned of a local snake handler here that comes and relocates snakes to safer areas from where they aren't wanted. What I did also realise that this is their territory - we're living in the bush, and all that is really required, is to put them back out into the bush and hope that no harm comes of it. In an area like this, education on the habits of snakes is really crucial, and so I joined the local pages on Facebook. 

We have since had a few more experiences, but mostly non-lethal. 

Kita was spat in the eyes by what we would assume would be an anchietas cobra or a zebra. That was a mad rush to the vets on a Sunday morning at 7am, when she woke us up telling us that something was wrong. We never found the snake, and luckily, as I have saline on hand, we flushed her eyes as best we could while contacting the vet. She has suffered no permanent damage.

We also had a little zebra snake that sadly got stuck on the electric fence and didn't make it. 

The other day we had a little skaapsteker in the garden, sunning itself on a rock, and there it stayed. The dogs seem to know to leave them alone, and Cady especially, after the python incident.