No, we dont keep anti-venom at home, but all Hospitals, and I think all Ambulance bases have a supply.
Thats one of the things places like Steve Erwin's Australia Zoo are really good for, they milk the snakes and make anti-venom, supplying it to Hospitals etc.
Allthough it is pretty common to see a snake, it isn't all that common to get bitten by one, pretty much it is something taught to primary school kids, that is, how to spot them, where they are likely to be, how to act when one is around, what to do if someone is bitten etc.
They pretty much are a fact of life, and everyone just learns to avoid them if they can, believe it or not, they are fairly easy to hear when they move if you know what to listen for, and a half decent dog will let you know a snake is around well before you get close enough for it to be a danger.
There are several types of plant that are thought to repel snakes too, Gerhanium (sp??) for one, so a lot of urban gardens are snake no-go zones.
Allso as a general rule, they are more afraid of you than you are of them, and will make every effort to get away from you.
Quite often when you see a snake, it is powering away from you as fast as it can go, generally because it was asleep untill you happened along.
If they are awake, they will be long gone by the time you show up.
The ones that show up on the back verandah, or start hanging out in your chicken coop get the old permanent 12 Guage shoo with the big broom that goes boom
They do a hell of a lot to control rodents though, so most people only kill the ones that are a direct threat.
The Eastern Brown is another multi-striker, it doesnt attack and run like a lot of snakes, it bights you, then bights you again, and again, and again.....I think that has a bit to do with it's 'level of dangerousness', in that not only is it's venom highly toxic, it injects huge amounts of it in several bights.
Same for a Tiger snake, multi-strike attack ,highly aggressive in breeding season, territorial, and it will come looking for you if you happen into it's territory at the wrong time of year., they are nowhere near as common as the Brown though.
LOL Ravvells, probably an Aboriginal thing....did you know that for a long time the Australian Aboriginals thought white men were called the Fekahwee tribe? Apparently the first white bloke they saw out in the bush strolled up and said "G'day mate, where the f**k are we?"
There used to be this song played on the radio a lot back when I was in primary school,
Ah, here we go, for your listening/reading pleasure.
Redback On The Toilet Seat (1972)
Ralph Ernest 'Slim' Newton
There was a redback on the toilet seat, when I was there last night
I didn't see him in the dark, but boy I felt his bite.
I jumped high up into the air and when I hit the ground
That crafty redback spider, wasn't nowhere to be found.
I rushed into the missus, told her just where I'd been bit
She grabbed the cut-throat razor blade, and I nearly took a fit.
I said, "Just forget what's on your mind and call the doctor, please,
'Cause I've got a feeling that your cure is worse than the disease."
Chorus: There was a redback on the toilet seat, when I was there last night
I didn't see him in the dark, but boy I felt his bite.
And now I'm here in hospital, a sad and sorry site
And I curse the redback spider, on the toilet seat last night.
I can't lie down, I can't sit up and I don't know what to do
And all the nurses think it's funny, but that's not my point of view.
I tell you it's embarrassing and that to say the least
That I'm too sick to eat a bit, while that spider had a feast.
And when I get back home again, I'll tell you what I'll do
I'll make that redback suffer, for the pain I'm going through.
I've had so many needles, that I'm looking like a sieve
And I promise you that spider, hasn't very long to live.
LOL, good old crap Aussie bush music.
