Snake rescuer hammers away to locate 2.3m black mamba under a bathtub
|Published
Durban — Some hammering was required to rescue a black mamba that had slithered beneath a bathtub in Durban.
On Tuesday evening, Durban snake rescuer Nick Evans and veterinarian Dr Carla Goede received a call for what sounded like a black mamba, which had gone under a bathtub.
The area was north-west of Inanda ‒ it was a long drive but Evans and Goede decided to go.
The call came in during peak hour traffic, and they were stuck in standstill traffic in Inanda. They arrived at the property after dark.
Evans said the resident told them he tried to hit the snake with a stick before it got under the bathtub. They understood he was scared and did not know what to do, but they explained he was lucky he did not get bitten.
There was a large hole on the side of the bath, leading under it. When the snake went in there, the residents quickly blocked it up. So, they were certain it was trapped.
“Carla and I moved the stuff out the way cautiously, but then couldn’t see a snake immediately. It had obviously moved to the right,” Evans said.
“I was given a 4-pound hammer, and permission to break the bath out. I hammered away at the solid brick wall holding the bath. It was well made!
“Carla stood behind me, watching that the snake didn’t come out of the existing opening, which would put me in a dangerous situation.
“Eventually, I created a hole. It wasn’t hollow in there, it was full of stones and rubble. How could the snake be there?”
Evans said a resident stepped in to help and they hammered, chiselled and even used a crowbar to get the bath out.
He said they had knocked about the whole small wall down and eventually they almost got the bath out if it was not for the immovable pipes.
“Yet still, no snake sighting. We could see almost everywhere. We were now seriously doubting it was still in there. We thought it snuck out before he blocked the opening,” Evans said.
“I then leaned right over the bath to look in the far corner. Among the rubble was a small hole. Our last hope. We were just about calling it a day.
“I asked the resident to dig away some of the rubble so I could see if anything was hiding in that hole.
“As he started digging, I saw the rubble starting to move. It was a bizarre sight, but I soon realised what was happening ‒ the snake was finally making its appearance!”
Evans said he told the resident to step away.
“I used the straighter side of the long crowbar, pushed it into the rubble, and lifted the snake’s body gently,” Evans said.
“Carla, looking through from the side of the bath, saw the head looking back at her and it wasn’t happy to see her!
“I stepped into the wobbly, delicate bath, and pinned its head down while most of its body was under the rubble, and appeared to be stuck.
“Carla then stepped in to dig it out,” Evans continued.
“We were sure it would be severely injured, but it seemed fine. No broken ribs, no swelling, no bleeding out of the mouth or nose. Lucky snake! It was around 2.3m+- in length, and is back in the bush, away from humans.”
Evans said it was a long but successful call-out.
He also thanked Ndlondlo Reptile Park and Shane Pike for referring them.
Meanwhile, while Evans and Goede were stuck in traffic, Evans looked in his rear-view mirror and noticed a guy had forced the back of his bakkie open, and was looking to see what he could steal.
He said the back had buckets which the man opted to leave.
“Unfortunately, none were occupied with a spitting cobra, which would have zapped him through the air vents,” Evans said.
“I jumped out of my car in a flash, but he disappeared like a ghost. ‘Poof’. Gone.”
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