Eastern Brown Snake
Photo: C & D Frith
Australian Tropical
Reptiles & Frogs Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja texilis) - The Eastern Brown snake is found along the entire length of the east coast of Australia, ranging from the tip of Cape York, along the coasts and inland areas of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia across the Eyre Peninsula and reaches as far as half way across the west cost of South Australia.
Colour: - As its habitat ranges, so too does the colouring of this snake, it may be any shade of brown. Ranging in colour from pale to dark brown, russet, orange to nearly black.
- Juvenile snakes have different colouring, a blackish head and banding on the nape. The body may be uniformly banded with dark cross-bands or may be irregularly reticulated by dark tipped scales.
Habitats: - This snake is fast, alert and sun loving, but may become active on hotter nights.
- It occupies a range of habitats from wet dry sclerophyll and heaths of coastal areas and ranges through savannah woodlands to inland grasslands and arid scrublands.
- Well adapted to open farmland.
- Not found in rainforests.
Diet: - This snake is very dangerous and venomous, having the second most toxic venom of all land snakes.
- Its venom is Neurotoxic and Haemotoxic
- It kills its prey by releasing venom and by constriction. This method of killing may be a means to killing the prey quickly or to prevent the prey from striking the snake while the venom takes effect.
- The snake feeds mainly on reptiles and small mammals.
Size: - The average length of this snake is 1.5 metres but it can reach lengths of up to 2.25 metres.
- It lays clutches of between 10 and 35 eggs.
Viewing Opportunities: - It is extremely unlikely that you will ever see an Eastern Brown Snake in the rainforest or on any of the walking tracks.
- The only sighting opportunities are in the cleared dairy pastures or farmlands outside of the rainforest.
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