Singapore Expats

Ok the new condo is next to some jungle here in Sg and the rooster and I are wondering whether the pythons or cobras( or whatever slithery creatures are hereabouts) can get through a window on the 2nd floor of our condo....I mean- can they climb ?
If we have to we can keep the windows closed I suppose so we don't become 'sitting ducks' !
Ooh what a horrible way to go.....
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=620691

I doubt if a snake can get very far up an outside wall, you can ask 'ole farm boy' as he's a good snake handler. Personally I would be more worried about what comes up your toilet.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 096541.stm

Ozchick - probably not the posting you wanted from me, but here goes:

http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/zoology/sn ... 23067.html

and I guess I'm off the Christmas card list for this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkJ1g4hJ ... re=related

I found this link with photos: http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/natur ... snakes.htm

I'm sure the Blue Coral Snake is actually quite nice, once you move out!

Seriously though, sorry to hear about your problem. have you tried the local parks service (I'm not sure what the equivalent here is) - perhaps they can offer you some more practical advice than old me!

Cheers, Mr. P

sierra2469alpha wrote:Ozchick - probably not the posting you wanted from me, but here goes:

http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/zoology/sn ... 23067.html

I would be more than a little skeptical about this site as it is not clear if posters are as knowledgeable as they claim or what they say they are.

I'm not sure of the veracity of any of the sites I just posted, Plavt!

Twas a more tongue-in-cheek than anything, hence why I said at the end that maybe they might try and get into contact with the local parks services to see if it's an issue. Maybe they're just coming up to see if there are any new mice, kitty-kats, or birds! Back on the farm in NSW, snakes would come around once we moved feed or a piece of machinery. Cunning, they are.

Nuffin' a shovel didn't fix back in the good old days, though!

Ozchick - if you and hubby are that worried, I saw some magnetic "fly screens" that would at least allow you to leave your windows open. I can't remember exactly, but they are in a magazine around here somewhere - happy to look it up and provide the details if that would help.

Cheers, P

As long as you don't accept any apples from talking snakes, it should be fine

No guys don't get me wrong ! I'm not 'worried' as such..mm...just a little curious......I mean I'd feel a lot happier leaving the windows open if I knew that pythons can't climb. The local plumber was here today and he reckons that they CAN climb but that there are none likely to be in our neck of the woods here. It's just given us the creeps having read that news article from Venezuela....ooh yucky.....

Being a former herpetologist (got sick of the slithery bastards) I can tell you that snakes can climb the wall of a house particularly if it's a rough surface (brick, dirt etc). The smoother the surface the less likely it is the snake will climb it (some can support themselves and pull up and over as if doing a chin-up if their heads reach a ledge). Overall I wouldn't be to worried

I haven't actually moved to Singapore yet, so take what I say with a pinch of salt....

But I remember seeing a documentary a couple of years ago about snakes and there was a bit about Singapore where they filmed a snake catcher catch a 20 foot python round the back of a food court downtown!

Apparently the sewers, humidity, temperature and abundance of food (rats) make the urban areas a snake heaven!

And just to back this up, on a trip to Singapore last year I saw a 6 foot snake in the open flood drain opposite the Cathay, Dhoby Ghaut.

So I guess the OP is just as likely to a snake as everyone else

if there's any snake restaurant franchise, you should get one.

Plavt wrote:I doubt if a snake can get very far up an outside wall, you can ask 'ole farm boy' as he's a good snake handler. Personally I would be more worried about what comes up your toilet.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 096541.stm

Hells Bells komrade ! That is seriously frightening !
Ooh, I wouldn't like to meet this dude in such a delicate setting !

durain wrote:if there's any snake restaurant franchise, you should get one.

You aint gettin' any funnier D !

We hear about the occasional python but most of the snakes you'll find here are harmless grass snakes. They're more afraid of you than you are of them and if you'll just bang about the house when you get back they'll probably slither away. Plus, maybe you'll get to find out if the Rooster is a real man!

Wind In My Hair wrote:We hear about the occasional python but most of the snakes you'll find here are harmless grass snakes.

That's curious, people living in Singapore posting on other forums have come across certain species of cobra as sms has too. We must be giving ozzy the shivers by now.

Well, I guess I ought to weigh in here if only for a minute....

Snakes are plentiful here in Singapore. There have been 3 meter pythons found on the 10th floor of HDB housing blocks. They have also been found emerging from toilets (fact) and I personally have caught over a dozen black spitting cobras ranging from 1 to 2 meters in length as well as the occasional young python. The cobras were always released in a nearby field as they tend to keep the rat population down (my kids were young back then) so I only caught them when I found them up near the house itself. If I caught a dozen that means there have been probably scores of them around my property as you only see about 1 in 10 as most disappear long before you are even aware they are there.

If they wanted to they can climb up any piping on a wall very easy, like the water or even the large sewage pipes often found at the side walls of private housing. Small grass snakes and racers abound but I don't even count them.

Anywhere you find a ditch or sewage system or green area you will most likely find snakes. Especially if there is a ready live food source nearby....