Fangtastic Facts
Photography: © David Clode
Eastern Brown Snake
(Pseudonaja textilis)
The eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), also known as the common brown snake, is a slender, highly venomous species that is widespread across eastern and central Australia.
Despite its name, an eastern brown snake does not always look brown. Individuals can range from pale tan to dark brown, grey, orange, or almost black.
It is particularly successful at living alongside people and can be found on farmland, in grasslands, and around the edges of towns and cities.
Description
Eastern brown snakes have a slim body and relatively small head, with little difference between the head and neck.
Colour within this species varies considerably. Adults may be pale brown, dark brown, grey, chestnut, burnt orange or almost black. The underside is usually cream, yellow or orange and may have pink, orange, brown or grey blotches, a feature it shares with the coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus).
Its body scales are smooth and slightly glossy. The eyes have a round pupil, with an orange or yellow-brown iris surrounded by a darker edge.
Young eastern brown snakes look quite different from many adults. Hatchlings usually have a distinctive dark patch on the top of the head and a dark band across the neck. Some also have dark bands running along the body. These markings usually fade as the snake grows, although some populations retain their banding into adulthood.
Eastern brown snakes usually grow to around 1.5 metres, although large adults can reach about 2 metres. The largest reliably measured specimen was just over 2 metres long.
Important: Colour, markings and overall appearance can vary considerably between individual snakes. Photographs, descriptions and information on this website should not be relied upon to identify a potentially venomous snake. If you encounter a snake, keep your distance and leave identification and removal to trained professionals.
Juvenile eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) with dark banding. Photography: © Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock
Identification
The eastern brown Snake can be difficult to identify from colour alone because its appearance varies considerably and can be similar to other species.
Useful features include:
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Slender body
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Small head that is only slightly wider than the neck
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Smooth, slightly glossy scales
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Round pupils
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Usually brown, grey, tan, orange or almost black upper body
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Cream, yellow or orange underside, often with pink, orange, brown or grey blotches
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Juveniles commonly have a dark head and neck band.
For scientific identification, the scale arrangement is also important and should only be used by qualified professionals. The following scale count applies to this species:
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Midbody: 17 rows
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Ventral: 185-235
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Subcaudal: 45-75 divided, however, some of the anterior scales are occasionally undivided)
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Anal: divided
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Supralabial: 6
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Sublabial: 7, occasionally 8
Several other Australian snakes can look similar, including some coastal taipans, mulga snakes and other species of brown snake.
Never rely on appearance alone to decide whether a snake is safe.
Distribution
The eastern brown snake occurs throughout most of Australia and southern New Guinea. Its Australian range extends from northern Queensland through New South Wales and Victoria, to parts of South Australia. It also has isolated populations in the Northern Territory, to the border of Western Australia.
In Queensland, it is particularly common in parts of southeast Queensland, where it has adapted extremely well to human-modified areas.
Habitat
Eastern brown snakes can live in a remarkably wide range of environments.
They are found in:
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Grasslands
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Woodlands and savannah
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Coastal heath
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Dry eucalypt forests
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Scrublands
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Farmland
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Grazed areas
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Arid regions
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The outskirts of towns and cities
They generally prefer open habitats rather than dense rainforest or alpine environments.
In inland areas, they may live around watercourses and seasonally flooded areas.
Their ability to live in farmland and suburban areas is partly linked to their diet. Farms, sheds, and houses often provide plenty of rats and mice, an important food source.
When resting, eastern brown snakes may shelter in animal burrows, cracks in the soil, beneath rocks and fallen logs, or under objects such as metal sheets and building materials.
Diet
Eastern brown snakes are active hunters that use their excellent eyesight to search for prey.
Their diet consists almost entirely of vertebrate animals, with mammals becoming increasingly important as the snake grows.
They commonly eat:
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Mice and rats
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Lizards
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Frogs
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Birds
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Reptile eggs
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Other snakes
Introduced house mice are an especially important food source, which is one reason eastern brown snakes are often found around farms and buildings.
Young snakes tend to eat more lizards and other cold-blooded animals, while larger snakes eat proportionally more warm-blooded prey.
When hunting, an eastern brown snake may raise its head above the surrounding vegetation to look for prey. Once it detects an animal, it can pursue and subdue it, using a combination of venom and constriction.
Behaviour
Eastern brown snakes are generally active during the day, although young snakes are sometimes encountered at night. During very hot weather, they may retreat to shelter and become active again later in the afternoon or evening.
They are typically solitary, but during winter several snakes may occasionally share the same shelter, particularly in colder parts of their range.
Eastern brown snakes are most active in spring. Males usually emerge earlier than females, and this is also when they begin searching for mates.
One of the most misunderstood behaviours of the eastern brown snake is its defensive display. When threatened, the snake may raise the front of its body and spread its neck. If the threat continues, it can lift higher, form its neck into an S‑shaped curve, and open its mouth. This behaviour is a warning. It does not mean the snake is attempting to attack a person. Research on encounters between people and eastern brown snakes shows that snakes usually try to move away or hide rather than approach.
The safest response to an eastern brown snake is to give it plenty of space and let it move away.
Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) in a defensive S-position and displaying its belly spots.
Photography: © Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock
Reproduction
Eastern brown snakes reproduce by laying eggs.
Breeding occurs mainly in spring and early summer. Male eastern brown snakes compete for access to females through ritual combat. Two males may intertwine their bodies and wrestle, with each attempting to push the other down. The stronger male eventually drives away his rival and gains access to the female.
Females can lay approximately 10–30 eggs, with some sources recording smaller clutches of around 15–28 eggs. Eggs are usually deposited in a sheltered spot, such as inside a burrow, hollow log, or other protected location. More than one female may use the same nesting site.
Temperature affects how quickly the eggs develop. At warmer temperatures, the eggs hatch sooner; at cooler temperatures, development takes considerably longer.
The hatchlings emerge already equipped with venom and the characteristic defensive behaviour of the species.
Venom
The eastern brown snake has extremely potent venom and causes more Australian snakebite deaths than any other snake species.
Fortunately, deaths are now uncommon compared with the past because of effective first-aid treatment, antivenom and improved medical care.
The venom mainly affects the blood-clotting system. One important venom component, called pseutarin-C, interferes with the normal process that causes blood to clot. This can cause venom-induced consumption coagulopathy, where clotting factors are rapidly used up. The blood can then lose its ability to clot properly, potentially causing serious internal bleeding.
Severe envenoming can also cause cardiovascular problems, including low blood pressure and cardiac arrest. Other possible effects include nausea, vomiting, sweating, abdominal pain, kidney injury and, less commonly, neurological effects.
Eastern brown snakes have quite small fangs, measuring around 3mm in length. Their bite can initially produce little or no obvious local reaction, and the bite itself may not be very painful. A bite may look like a tiny scratch or be hard to see. This means a bite can be difficult to recognise.
For this reason, treat any suspected snakebite as a medical emergency. The person should remain still, use appropriate pressure immobilisation first aid and seek emergency medical treatment immediately.
Predators
Eastern brown snakes have several natural predators, including birds of prey and feral cats.
They can also survive exposure to their own venom and appear to resist the venom of some potential snake predators, including the mulga snake.
Cane toads are a different story. Eastern brown snakes can be poisoned when they eat cane toads and rapidly perish after consuming them.
Humans are also a significant cause of mortality. Many eastern brown snakes are killed deliberately when people encounter them, while others are accidentally killed by vehicles on roads.
Conservation status
The IUCN Red List classifies P. textilis as least concern.
The eastern brown snake remains widespread and is considered common across much of its range.
Its ability to live in agricultural and modified environments has helped it thrive alongside people. However, people often kill individual snakes out of fear or because they encounter them around homes, farms, and roads.
Fangtastic Fact
Eastern brown snake venom contains a variety of bioactive proteins, including a group of molecules called textilinins. These small proteins inhibit plasmin, an enzyme that breaks down blood clots through a process known as fibrinolysis.
By slowing clot breakdown, textilinins may help reduce blood loss. In laboratory studies, textilinins 1 and 2 reduced bleeding in an animal model, attracting scientific interest in their potential as antihaemorrhagic agents (substances that help control bleeding). Researchers have also investigated their molecular structure and how they interact with plasmin.
Although further research is needed to establish their safety and effectiveness in humans, textilinins demonstrate how studying snake venom can reveal biological molecules with potential applications in medicine.
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Content on this website is provided for general educational purposes and is not suitable for identifying snakes or guiding interactions with them. While reasonable care is taken to ensure accuracy, no guarantee is made regarding completeness or suitability for specific circumstances. Wild snakes should not be approached or handled, and professional snake catchers should be contacted if assistance is required. By using this website, users acknowledge and accept these terms.
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