DURBAN - At least two months after the snake mating season had Durban residents on edge with numerous sightings and rescues of male and female adult snakes, their eggs have hatched.
Local snake rescuer Nick Evans said that as a snake lover, the last few weeks have been exciting for him.
He said eggs laid two to three months ago have all started hatching.
“I’ve been lucky enough to witness a few clutches hatching, or at least see all the babies out. These were from heavily gravid (pregnant) snakes I caught a while ago. I let them lay their eggs, then set them free,” he said.
Evans said often when people see hatchlings on their property they panic, wondering where the mother, father or siblings are.
He assured the public that they need not be concerned about the parent snakes.
“Snakes will come together to mate, then go their separate ways. So the father is out of the picture. Then, two to three months later, the mother will lay her eggs and leave them,” said Evans
However, he said this excludes pythons and spotted skaapstekers.
Evans added that when the snakes hatch, they disperse.
“There’s a chance you might see more than one hatchling, but most of the time people don't see more than one,” he said, based on the calls he receives.
He advised that not all small snakes are hatchlings, using the examples of thread snakes and centipede eaters, which do not grow more than 20cm in length.
Evans warned that venomous snakes are venomous from the day they hatch.
“Don’t try picking up or kill a baby mamba or cobra thinking it can’t bite or harm you. Either leave hatchling snakes alone, or call a professional for advice or to remove them,” said Evans.
He added that most of these hatchling snakes will get eaten by a variety of animals, including mongoose, genets, birds, monitor lizards and even crabs.
“They’re not all going to survive to adulthood,” said Evans.
