Brown Button Spider (Lectrodectus geometricus) - venomous & dangerous. *Please click on the button below to "Share" this post!* — Known as “Knopiespinnekoppe” in Afrikaans, Button Spiders are found from Cape Town a long the South cost to the eastern and central parts of the region. Their egg sacs have distinctive shapes, textures, and colours according to the subspecies: those belonging to Black Button Spiders (Latrodectus cinctus, a.k.a. Black Widow Spiders) are smooth, cream-colored, and about the size of a pea, whereas those belonging to Brown Button Spiders (Latrodectus geometricus) are covered in small spikes. Button Spiders weave irregularly-spaced webs with strong, elastic silk and usually include a retreat of thick, opaque silk and debris on one side. They have a neurotoxic venom that’s medically significant, but they are not aggressive at all - when threatened they either hide in their silk retreats or fall to the ground with their legs curled, feigning death. Mortality from the bites of Button Spiders is less than one percent worldwide. Untreated, symptoms from bites last for about five days and are very unpleasant. Initially the site of the note is painful, then after 10-60 minutes the pain spreads to lymph nodes closest to the bite site, and from there to the muscles and joints. Strong, painful muscle cramps develop and the abdominal muscles become rigid. The bite victim’s face becomes contorted, flushed, and sweaty, the eyelids swollen, the lips inflamed, and the jaw muscles contracted. A toxin in the venom can pass the blood / brain barrier and attack the central nervous system, resulting in severe psychological symptoms ranging from anxiety to absolute terror. — You can help us keep our wildlife safe! Even small donations help immensely: http://www.bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/donate ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVb3eWjs2fY

Boomslang (Dispholidus typus typus) - venomous & very dangerous. *If you liked this post, please click the button below to "Share"!* -- A West Beach resident saw this Boomslang in their garden and called for it to be relocated. -- Boomslang are known for their strikingly large eyes - the largest of any African snake. Females are light to olive brown with dirty white to brown bellies, whereas males may have a variety of colors but usually present dark green on top with yellow bellies and black markings in-between their belly scales. Shy and diurnal (active during the day), they spend most of their lives in trees and shrubs where they hunt eggs, birds, frogs, chameleons, and other tree-dwelling lizards. Their venom is haemotoxic, which means that it affects the clotting mechanism in blood and leads to severe internal and external bleeding, or even haemorrhage if untreated. Although potent, the venom is slow-acting and may take more than 24 hours to produce serious symptoms - an effective anti-venom is available in some locations. There are two common myths about the Boomslang: firstly, that they drop from trees onto people who walk by (they don’t), and secondly that because they’re rear-fanged they can only bite you on your little finger (they are rear-fanged, but can open their jaws 170 degrees and bite you almost anywhere on your body). -- Read more about this species here: https://bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/snake-profiles/dispholidus-typus-typus-boomslang/ Find your nearest snake catcher's contact details here: https://snakeremoval.co.za/ -- If you enjoy our photos and videos and want to support the work we do, please consider making a small donation? Every little bit helps! http://www.bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/donate ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkLuaqqWjHg

Cape Cobra (Naja nivea) - venomous and very dangerous. -- This was my second call-out to the same company in Atlantis Industrial today - a couple of hours after I removed a Juvenile Mole Snake, they found a Cape Cobra! Also known as a "Koperkapel" or "Geelslang" in Afrikaans, the Cape Cobra is a common venomous snake in our area that can range in color from yellow through reddish brown to black. When threatened or cornered, it's quick to spread a hood and won't hesitate to bite. Cape Cobra venom is highly neurotoxic (the most potent of any African cobra), which means that it attacks the nervous system and causes respiratory collapse (the victim stops breathing), which in turn leads to suffocation. In the Cape provinces this snake accounts for most human snakebite fatalities. I safely relocated it to the wild shortly after capturing it. -- Download the “Snake Removal Pro” app to have instant access to your nearest snake catcher’s contact details, read frequently asked questions, watch snake rescue videos, and more: http://bit.ly/snakeremovalpro -- Your donations help us keep our community and wildlife safe! Even tiny amounts from enough of our fans would help us cover our fuel cost & time - simply click on one of the "Donate" buttons here: http://www.bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBreGOPUaBA

Mole Snake (Pseudaspis cana) - non-venomous, but can inflict a painful bite. *Please click on the button below to "Share" this post!* -- Read more about this species here: https://bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/snake-profiles/pseudaspis-cana-mole-snake/ Find your nearest snake catcher's contact details here: https://snakeremoval.co.za/ -- After some rainy weather earlier in the day, this Mole Snake made its way into a Melkbosstrand resident's garden. The home owners called me, then kept an eye on it from a safe distance until I arrived to capture it. -- Mole Snakes are found in a variety of habitats, even mountainous regions and deserts, but they're particularly common in sandy scrub-covered and grassveld regions. They spend most of their time underground, pushing their way through soft sand in search of moles and other rodents. Viviparous, they give live birth to anywhere between 25-50 babies in late summer. Interestingly, juvenile (young) mole snakes have a variety of patterns and colors that they lose completely once they reach adulthood. -- You can help us keep our wildlife safe! Even small donations help immensely: http://www.bloubergsnakerescue.co.za/donate ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpWlByQFM_I