SNAKE wrangler, Warren Dick, was called out to Prospecton after a night adder found itself caught in a sticky situation when it got stuck on carelessly discarded packaging tape at a packaging plant.

The Bluff snake enthusiast and professional snake catcher said the full length of the serpent was stuck fast on the tape, and to make matters worse, it was stuck along its back.

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“I’m not sure what type of glue was on there, but the snake was well stuck and I was way out of my depth to try help it. I cut the snake off the larger piece of packaging tape and then phoned my friends at Ushaka’s Dangerous Creatures to ask for help. The vet team agreed to try help me get the poor snake unstuck. The snake was put under a local anesthetic to make it safer for us and less cruel for the snake. A dilute solution of dishwasher soap and a cotton swab was used to gently peel each scale off the tape,” said Dick.

Tragically, the snake had undergone too much stress during the ordeal and died shortly after being freed from the tape.

Dick said that he has come upon a few snakes stuck in similar situations. “I ask that you be mindful of how you discard items. Just as the little plastic rings of bottles can be dangerous to wildlife, so can discarded tape and other glues. People often use duct tape to stick signs on walls and over time, the tape becomes unstuck and can become a potential hazard for wildlife to get stuck to.”

To contact Dick to have your interesting insects, snakes or spiders identified, send him a WhatsApp or call 072 211 0353.

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