Eastern Cape Snake Info

[Al1ce]

Hiya,

Later this year I'm moving down to the Kenton-on-Sea/Bokness area of the Eastern Cape. Our house is right on the beach but in an undeveloped area with plenty of forest and bush. I've never lived in the EC before and I was hoping I could get some expert advice about venomous snakes in the region so we don't have conflict with them. I'm especially worried about my dogs who are total city slickers and a bit stupid

I've done my Googling so I've got some general information about what to do in the event of an encounter or a bite, but I was hoping for some specific, expert advice:

- Are snake encounters in the area generally likely?
- Which venomous snakes are we most likely to encounter?
- Do snakes move down onto the beach?
- Who exactly do I call if I (or my dogs) get bitten?
- Anything else you think may be useful.

Thanks in advance, and apologies if I've posted this in the wrong section.

~A

[michael]

Hi Alice, welcome to the Eastern Cape. The venomous snakes that you are likely to encounter would be Boomslang, Puff Adders and night adders. Cape cobra and rinkhals also occur in the area. There are a few species that I haven’t bothered to mention because you probably won’t encounter them or they aren’t of too much medical significance. If you suspect one of your dogs has been bitten by a venomous snake the local vets are capable of taking care of the situation. While not impossible, it is unlikely that you would ever be bitten by a snake. In the event that it does happen, stay calm and get someone to take you to a competent medical facility as soon as possible. In South Africa we have two antivenoms, a polyvalent, which treats most of our venomous snakes and a monovalent antivenom which treats Boomslang. Please enjoy the lovely beaches and forget about the snakes, if you are ever in East Londen you can visit the Apex predator snake park and learn a lot about the local snakes.

Please feel free to ask as many questions as you like

[kylenico]

Very Interesting!

[fuscusV2]

Definitely Puff Adder, Cape Cobra and Rinkhals, otherwise Boomslang (rarely encountered as they are quick to make an exit), night adders (very common but not deadly).