Recently, a friend in the Pyrénées-Orientales was weeding her strawberry patch in the garden and sat down to rest on a spare pile of plastic netting, fortunately quite a large pile.
She suddenly felt movement under the pile and leapt up, and to her horror realised that there was a very large snake entwined in the netting, unable to react as it was so entangled.
Calling her husband they tried to free the animal, for which effort he was painfully bitten on the hand.
They knew perfectly well that the safe place to handle a (possibly venomous) snake was close to the head, but it was very difficult to control being a large and strong snake, and so entangled that they could not see it.
Leaving the snake where it was they sought medical help for the bite: cleaning the wound, checking that his tetanus was up-to-date and receiving antibiotics.
Expert called in
We have a mutual friend, Daniel, who is a herpetologist, and in the morning he was called over to deal with the problem.
Many years ago as a young man he collected wild adders (Vipère aspic) and sent them to Paris to the Pasteur Institute where the venom was harvested in order to produce antivenin that was then stocked in selected hospitals for treatment after snake bites.
This is no longer done with wild specimens, but with captive ones in farms where they can be periodically milked after the venom has built up again.
The species in my friend’s garden turned out to be a Montpellier snake (Couleuvre de Montpellier).
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There is a marked difference in appearance of this species.
The male is generally larger, shades of olive, brown or grey above with a yellowish underside.
Females have a mottled coloration with shades of black or white or yellowish on a light brown background, and they are more slender.
Even though this was an impressive size, one metre twenty centimetres long, they can be much bigger, growing to over two metres in length.
Whilst it has the round eyes that are typical of grass snakes – a viper’s eyes are vertical slits – it is slightly venomous, and should be handled with care and only in an emergency.
It is illegal to handle snakes in France if you do not have a licence.
If you are not capable of doing this, it is advisable to call in a herpetologist, a vet, a rescue centre or the local firemen (sapeur/pompier), someone who has experience enough to know the difference between a grass snake and a viper.
Cooling snake down can help
It is important not to harm the snake – they are very useful in controlling rodents, but their main prey are lizards.
J.P Fabre
In the photo, above, Daniel Guerineau can be seen cutting the snake free with a pair of scissors whilst holding it securely with the other hand.
He advises that if the snake is very large and therefore strong it is possible to put it, still wrapped in some of the netting, in a closed soft cloth bag and put it in the fridge overnight.
In the morning whilst it is still cool the snake will be completely sleepy and so easy to cut free and released back into the place where it was found.
Snakes are mainly active during the day and need to warm up in the morning sunlight by thermoregulation before they can move fast enough to hunt.
Snake unharmed
Once freed from the net Daniel was able to examine it for injuries.
He also gently prised open its mouth with a pair of plastic forceps to the backward facing teeth which contain the venom.
Only a person foolish enough to actually put their fingers into the snake’s mouth (it has happened, one wonders why) would be then injected with the toxins.
J.P Fabre
This tooth can be clearly seen in the photo above, although it should be stressed that the toxicity is fairly mild, and probably only a very large specimen would be capable of giving a bite.
Montpellier snakes are not aggressive, and are not particularly persecuted by man, which makes finding them fairly common along the southern Mediterranean and North Africa (despite its name, its natural range is not limited to the south of France).
I have found a dead one fifty miles inland, which is about the limit of its range, says Daniel.
It is not the first time that Daniel has been called in for this sort of rescue, but he has never come across a viper in a similar situation.
Daniel, a keen gardener, advises pinning down the edges of netting and either cutting away the excess or putting it in a sealed sack.
Sometimes birds get trapped under the net, and a snake might be drawn to an easily captured prey.
In this instance both the snake and the gardener were lucky, and once freed the snake was released back into the garden, where it rapidly slid off safety.
When it comes to other snakes, such as vipers, some in France are not so lucky, with up to 1,000 snake bites being recorded each year.
