If you live anywhere in the Greater Sydney region and you find a venomous snake on your property, the odds are overwhelming that it is a red bellied black snake. It is by far the most common venomous species we deal with, accounting for around 62 percent of all Sydney Snake Catcher callouts in 2025, roughly 550 jobs across the year. No other species comes close.
This is the species we know best. We understand their behaviour, their habits, and the situations that bring them into suburban yards. The good news is that despite their reputation, red bellied black snakes are one of the more reasonable venomous snakes to share a landscape with. The bad news is that they are still dangerously venomous, and a bite to a small dog or a child is a genuine emergency.
If you have found a red bellied black snake right now, skip to what to do if you find a red bellied black snake below, or call us on 1300 599 938.
The red bellied black snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus, is a large elapid native to eastern Australia and one of the country's most recognisable snakes. More Sydney residents encounter this species than any other venomous snake.
Venom rating: dangerously venomous Total length: up to 2 metres Conservation status: IUCN least concern Urban adaptation: very high Activity: active by day, most often seen in spring and early summer
Red bellied black snakes are one of the more distinctive snakes in Australia:
Large, glossy snake with a smooth, polished appearance Upper body a uniform deep glossy black Lower flanks brilliant red to pinkish, running up the sides Underbelly red, fading to cream or orange near the tail Head only slightly distinct from the neck Smooth, strongly glossed scales Moderately built, slimmer than a python and heavier than a whip snake Tail tapering to a fine point
The combination of glossy black upper body and vivid red flanks is unmistakable in good light. Even at night, the contrast between the dark back and the lighter belly usually shows.
Eastern small eyed snake: much smaller, glossy black above, pinkish belly often marked with dark blotches. Juveniles are the ones most often confused with a young red bellied black. Golden crowned snake: much smaller, pale crown markings, reddish belly, lacks the glossy black back. Diamond python: has the rosette pattern and no red belly at all. Eastern brown snake: brown or tan rather than black, cream or pale belly often marked with orange spots.
Juvenile red bellied black snakes, eastern small eyed snakes and golden crowned snakes can all look similar at a glance, since all three are small, dark, and reddish bellied. For practical purposes, treat any small dark snake in the Sydney region as potentially dangerous until it has been identified by a licensed reptile catcher.
Red bellied black snakes are habitat generalists with a strong preference for moist ground near water, and they have adapted exceptionally well to suburban Sydney.
Natural habitats include wetlands, swamps and marshes, creek edges and riverbanks, ponds, lagoons and dams, wet sclerophyll forest, riparian corridors, and damp pockets of coastal heath.
In urban settings they turn up in suburban gardens with ponds or water features, properties backing onto creeks and stormwater drains, bushland reserves and bushland edge homes, golf courses and parks with lakes, drainage corridors through suburbs, and any property with a healthy frog population.
The link to water and frogs is the defining feature of where this species turns up. A property with a pond, a creek frontage or plenty of frogs is far more likely to see a red bellied black snake than a dry block with none of those. Suburbs with strong bushland or wetland connections consistently produce our highest numbers of red bellied black callouts, including Lane Cove, Ku ring gai, the Sutherland Shire, the Hawkesbury, Hornsby Shire, the Hills District, the Northern Beaches, and much of the Central Coast.
The red bellied black snake's reputation as one of Australia's deadly snakes is largely undeserved when it comes to temperament. They are dangerously venomous, but their behaviour is genuinely shy and geared toward avoidance.
The first response to a person is almost always retreat. They prefer to escape into water, dense vegetation, or a known refuge, and they very rarely chase or pursue. Most bites happen when someone tries to handle or kill the snake, not from an incidental encounter.
When a red bellied black snake is cornered and cannot retreat, the defensive display is characteristic. It raises the front part of its body, flattens the neck slightly, holds the head and forebody almost vertical, hisses, and often delivers mock strikes with the mouth closed before striking for real if the threat continues.
Most encounters resolve in seconds. The snake sees the person, moves toward cover, and is gone. The dramatic standoffs almost always involve a snake that has been cornered, trodden on, or actively provoked.
After more than thirty years catching red bellied black snakes across Sydney, our consistent observation is that they are reasonable animals. They want food, shelter, and to be left alone. A red bellied black snake that sees you and turns to leave is not a threat. One basking on a path that lets you walk past at a respectful distance is not a threat. The danger arises when a person forces a confrontation, by trying to catch, kill, or photograph the snake at close range.
Yes, and they must be treated with respect, though the practical risk to most people is moderate compared with several other Australian venomous species.
Red bellied black snake venom is primarily myotoxic, meaning it damages muscle tissue, and anticoagulant, meaning it interferes with blood clotting. It is significantly less neurotoxic than the venom of brown snakes or tiger snakes, which is part of why this species has such a low mortality rate.
A bite to a human can cause significant local pain and swelling, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, sweating and headache, disturbed blood clotting, muscle damage that can persist for weeks, and in untreated cases, kidney damage or prolonged hospitalisation.
There are no recorded human deaths from red bellied black snake bites in Australia. That is genuinely remarkable for a species this widespread and frequently encountered, and it comes down to the combination of effective antivenom, the snake's reluctance to bite, and venom effects that are manageable with prompt treatment.
This is where red bellied black snakes become genuinely dangerous. The risk to pets, particularly dogs, is significantly higher than the risk to people.
Dogs are bitten far more often than humans because they actively engage with snakes rather than retreating. Bites often land on the muzzle or paws, and a dog's smaller body size means the venom load is proportionally much larger. Symptoms develop quickly, including vomiting, paralysis, dark urine, and weakness, and without prompt veterinary treatment and antivenom many dog bites are fatal. Treatment can run into thousands of dollars, and smaller dogs carry the highest risk.
Cats are somewhat more resistant to this venom than dogs and generally have better survival rates, but outdoor cats still need urgent veterinary treatment if bitten.
Many people in the reptile community have lost dogs, or know someone who has, to red bellied black snake bites. If you have dogs and live in habitat for this species, keep them on lead near water, keep them out of dense vegetation through summer, and know where your nearest 24 hour vet with antivenom stock is located.
Red bellied black snakes are opportunistic hunters with a strong preference for moist habitats. They eat frogs and tadpoles, small mammals such as mice and rats, lizards, other snakes including venomous species, and occasionally small fish or eels.
Their willingness to eat other snakes, including eastern brown snakes, is one of the more striking features of the species. A property with a resident red bellied black snake often has fewer other snake species around, simply because the black snake has eaten them. It is one of the reasons we sometimes tell homeowners that a known red bellied black on their property may be keeping a more dangerous species away, and removing it isn't automatically the safer option.
Mating happens in spring, and males wrestle each other in non venomous combat, intertwining and pushing one another to the ground. Females may share gestation shelter sites with other females. Unlike most elapids, red bellied black snakes give birth to live young rather than laying eggs, with litters of up to 20, typically in late summer. Young are fully independent from birth. Males reach sexual maturity around 2 to 3 years, females around 3 to 4 years, and wild lifespan runs to roughly 15 to 20 years. A favoured maternity site, a sandstone crevice, a stack of corrugated iron, a particular roof cavity, can be used by multiple females over many years.
Stop where you are and do not approach. Keep at least 3 to 5 metres back. Keep children, pets and anyone else away from the area.
Watch the snake from that safe distance and keep your eyes on it. If it moves into a garden bed, under a shed, or into any other cover, keep watching that exact spot rather than turning away, since it will very rarely move again once it has settled. Snakes almost always retreat to the closest available hiding place, and knowing where that is makes the difference between a quick job and a long search once we arrive.
Call Sydney Snake Catcher on 1300 599 938. We attend 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across the Greater Sydney region, and we will talk you through what to do while the catcher is on the way.
While you wait, bring pets and children inside and close any external doors that could let the snake into the building. Do not try to corner or contain it, let it move freely. If it has already moved into dense cover and settled, you don't need to do anything further beyond keeping half an eye on that spot until we arrive.
Do not attempt to kill the snake. Red bellied black snakes are a protected species and killing one is illegal, and most snakebite incidents in Australia happen when someone tries to kill the snake themselves. Do not try to capture it, even if you have handled reptiles before. Do not try to shoo it away with a broom or stick, which usually just produces a defensive snake and a more difficult job. Do not assume it is harmless because it hasn't reacted. Red bellied black snakes give a warning display only when they feel they have to.
A confirmed or suspected red bellied black snake bite is a medical emergency.
Call 000 and request an ambulance. Keep the person still and calm, since movement spreads venom faster through the body. Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage, a broad firm wrap starting at the bite site and running toward the heart, then back down, as firm as you would wrap a sprained ankle but not so tight it cuts off circulation, and splint the limb to stop it moving.
Do not wash the bite site, since venom traces on the skin help identify the snake and select the right antivenom. Do not cut or suck the wound, and do not apply a tourniquet. Do not try to capture or kill the snake, a photo from a safe distance is enough if you can get one.
Pet bites need the same urgency. Get the animal to a 24 hour veterinary clinic immediately, ideally one that stocks antivenom.
Keep grass short within a few metres of the house. Clear rock piles, timber stacks and general clutter away from the immediate building line. Keep pond margins visible rather than let dense vegetation grow right to the water's edge. Deal with rodent problems, since mice and rats bring snakes in. Seal gaps in foundations, brickwork and around pipework. Keep firewood well away from the house. Carry a torch when walking outside at night near water, wear closed shoes and long pants when gardening through snake season, and teach children to back away from any snake rather than approach it.
None of this will eliminate red bellied black snake encounters if you live in good habitat for them, but it will cut down how often an incidental sighting turns into something riskier.
Are red bellied black snakes aggressive? No. They are shy and avoidance oriented, and almost always retreat rather than confront a person. Most bites happen when someone tries to handle or kill the snake.
Has anyone died from a red bellied black snake bite in Australia? No recorded human deaths are on record, largely due to effective antivenom, the species' reluctance to bite, and venom effects that respond well to prompt treatment.
Are red bellied black snakes dangerous to dogs? Yes, significantly more so than to humans. Dogs are bitten more often, carry a proportionally larger venom load, and can die without prompt veterinary treatment and antivenom.
What should I do if I see a red bellied black snake in my yard? Stay back at least 3 to 5 metres, keep watching where it goes, and call Sydney Snake Catcher on 1300 599 938. Do not approach, corner or try to kill it.
The red bellied black snake is Sydney's most commonly encountered venomous snake, accounting for around 62 percent of our callouts across the region. Glossy black above with vivid red flanks and belly, it thrives in suburbs with creeks, ponds, frogs and bushland connections. It is dangerously venomous but generally shy, bites to humans are rarely fatal with prompt treatment, and the danger to pets, especially dogs, is significantly higher.
If you find a red bellied black snake on your property, the response is straightforward. Keep your distance, keep watching where it settles, and call Sydney Snake Catcher. We attend 24/7, and we will identify and safely relocate the snake without harm to you, the snake, or anyone else.
Found a red bellied black snake or another reptile at your home? Sydney Snake Catcher operates 24/7 across the Greater Sydney region. We are fully licensed and insured, and we specialise in red bellied black snake removal across every Sydney suburb. Call 1300 599 938, day or night.
For more information follow the link www.urbanreptileremoval.com.au/faq-after-a-visit-from/red-bellied-black-snake
The red bellied black snake is Sydney's most commonly encountered venomous snake, accounting for around 62 percent of all Sydney Snake Catcher callouts in 2025. Glossy black above with vivid red flanks and belly, it's one of the easiest venomous snakes in the region to identify once you know the pattern, and one of the most likely to turn up in a suburban backyard with a pond, a creek nearby, or a healthy population of frogs.
Sydney Snake Catcher provides professional Red-bellied Black Snake removal and licensed reptile relocation across Sydney, 24 hours a day. If a Red-bellied Black Snake is found at your home, workplace or another high-use area, keep your distance and watch where it goes. Our experienced snake catchers can safely contain and relocate the animal. Call 1300 599 938 for assistance throughout Greater Sydney.
Despite the fearsome reputation, red bellied black snakes are genuinely shy. Their first response to a person is almost always retreat, and the great majority of encounters end with the snake moving off into cover within seconds. They are still dangerously venomous, though, and there is no recorded human death from a bite in Australia, largely thanks to effective antivenom and prompt treatment. The real risk sits with dogs, which are bitten far more often and can die without urgent veterinary care.
If you find one on your property, keep your distance, keep watching where it settles, and call a licensed catcher. Sydney Snake Catcher attends 24 hours a day across the Greater Sydney region, on 1300 599 938
