Another nocturnal elapid . . .

Bandy Bandy - a most unusual snake, Watagan State Forest, NSW 

Bandy bandy's are an enigmatic little beast that seem to turn up at odd times in unpredictable places.  Allegedly they specialise in eating blind snakes, but I have not kept this species so cannot say for sure.  Many, many, many years ago, way back in the last millennium, a friend had an absolutely massive bandy bandy, about one metre in length.  He found it in Lightning Ridge, NSW, and kept it for many years.  It quite happily ate pink mice.  

On average I bump into two or three per year while I'm out in the bush, and the vast majority are between 10cm - 50cm in length, and around the thickness of the pinkie finger on my left hand to perhaps as thick as the index finger on my right hand.  The biggest specimen I have observed was almost one metre in length, and quite thick - perhaps as thick as my right thumb.  

I could honestly not predict when they are likely to appear or the environment I'll find them in.  They seem to just appear without any discernible pattern where you find them - I have encountered them in everything from littoral rainforest, open woodland dominated by Callitris spp & Eucalyptus spp, brigalow scrub, throughout the whole NSW Central West (where it snows every winter) and even behind the sand dunes on a local beach here in Newcastle.  

In short, these are a tough, adaptable little beast, and have a generally very laid back approach to life, though being an elapid snake, they are venomous and you'd never handle one unless you had to.  The reason I believe this is the Eastern small-eyed snake.  

When I was a young fellow, Small-eyed snakes were regarded as "venomous but harmless" in most of the books. They'd bite if you were silly enough to handle them carelessly, but no-one paid any attention to it.  Right up until a fellow died of rhabdomylosis (basically complications involving massive muscle destruction overloading the kidneys with toxins associated with tissue death). Suddenly they are now classified as "dangerously venomous" and sensible herpetologists treat them with respect.  To me, Bandy bandys look too much like an upmarket version of an Eastern small eyed snake.  Take the bands away & they look way too much like an Eastern small eyed snake for comfort.                

This little chappie was crossing the road late on Saturday night, and I stopped for a couple of quick shots.  He was only about 35 - 40 cm in total length and extremely active, due to the extreme weather we endured this last weekend.  Notice how the bands at the nose have the characteristic, distinctive yellow tinge while the rest of the bands are all black & white?     

Bandy Bandy, Watagan State Forest Saturday 11th February 2017