Recently, a 1.2 metre tiger snake was caught after it took up residence in a horse stable at Tyers Park Racecourse.

These reptiles have a fearsome reputation and their toxic venom ranks them among the top 10 most dangerous snakes in Australia.

Snake catcher Jake Hansen said while the reptiles do like some warm weather, very hot temperatures will often lead to the animals trying to escape the heat by heading indoors.

Along with his brother Sam, the pair from Orange Snake Service received a call to relocate the reptile from Tyers Park due to fears it was too close to horses and people.

Jake said while horses are significantly larger than humans, they are still susceptible to the toxic venom of these snakes.

“Sam attended this call for a chunky tiger snake that was wedged into a tight spot at a horse stable,” the pair posted to their company’s Facebook page.

“It was in a confined position where it couldn’t be grabbed or hooked out so by banging on the corrugated iron, the snake was encouraged to leave it’s hiding spot to where he was able grab it.

“It was only a matter of five to 10 minutes [to catch it], it was between the shed and a horse stable, we had to coax it out.”

And what does a snake catcher do after the snake has been caught – release it of course.

“Under the terms of our catch and release licence, obtained through the Office of Environment and Heritage, all snakes have to be released,” Jake said.

“We put a lot of thought into the release site.”

The release site must be a similar environment to where the snake was originally found and preferably one with as few people as possible.

Jake said he understood “for some people it’s their biggest fear”, but said the most sensible thing to do if you see a snake was to leave it alone.

“They’re fearful of humans and their only defence is to flee and if they can’t do that they bite,” he said.

Jake said they attend call outs across the region from people who have discovered snakes in their homes, business and back yards.