IT'S that time of the year again when sleepy snakes awake from their slumber and emerge to enjoy the warmth of spring.
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It also comes with a warning for Port Macquarie-Hastings residents to keep an eye out for snakes and ensure backyards are tidy and free from snake hiding spots.
Billabong Zoo snake handler Brad Hilderbrandt said more snakes will be seen over coming weeks as the weather warms up.
On the coast, carpet pythons, green tree snakes and the more venomous red-bellied black snake and brown snakes are among the most common.
"If you are heading out into the bush watch where you place your feet, wear boots and jeans because a lot of venomous snakes do not have very long fangs and make sure you have a pressure immobilisation bandage," Mr Hilderbrandt said.
A man south of Forster was bitten recently by a death adder while hiking in bushland at Seal Rocks.
Mr Hilderbrandt said with the quality of today's medical treatment, it is rare for a snake bite to be fatal. Between 1-3 people die each year in Australia after being bitten by a snake.
Bites usually occur when people are trying to kill a snake or are attempting to relocate it.
There are regular sightings of brown snakes along Port Macquarie's coastal fringe particularly at Town beach and Rainbow Beach in Bonny Hills.
Australia's 10 most venomous snakes are:
- Eastern brown snake
- Western brown snake
- Mainland tiger snake
- Inland taipan
- Coastal taipan
- Mulga snake
- Lowlands copperhead
- Small-eyed snake
- Common death adder
- Red bellied black snake
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