Eastern Brown Snake

Q: Is the eastern brown snake the second most venomous snake in the world?

By one standard measure, yes. In a 1979 study of venom lethality in mice, eastern brown snake venom was the second most toxic of all snakes tested, after the inland taipan (Broad et al. 197990245-9); AVRU). The ranking is by toxicity, not by how many bites or deaths a snake causes. See our venomous snakes showdown.

Q: Are eastern brown snakes aggressive?

Rarely, according to field data. In 455 close encounters between a researcher and wild eastern brown snakes near Leeton, NSW, the snake retreated about half the time and otherwise mostly stayed still and hidden; it advanced only 12 times, and only three of those advances were offensive (Whitaker & Shine 1999). Cornered snakes rear up in an S-shaped defensive display and may bite (AVRU).

Q: What does an eastern brown snake bite do to a person?

Mainly, it stops the blood from clotting. Every envenomed patient in a study of 149 confirmed brown snake bites developed venom-induced consumption coagulopathy, and over a third had severe effects such as collapse, major bleeding or cardiac arrest (Allen et al. 2012). The bite is often painless and hard to see, so any suspected bite needs first aid and urgent hospital care (Australian Museum).

Q: How can you tell an eastern brown snake from other snakes?

Look for a slender, plain brown body and a small head. Adults are fairly uniform tan, chestnut, orange or near-black, with a cream to orange belly blotched with pinkish-orange or grey, and a head barely wider than the neck. Close relatives look very similar: the eastern brown has a flesh-pink mouth, while several other brown snakes have a mostly black one. It is also confused with the mulga snake and coastal taipan (Australian Museum).

Pseudonaja textilis

Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis): Small Fangs, Potent Venom

The eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) is a slender, fast-moving elapid of eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. Its venom is the second most toxic of any snake tested on mice, and brown snakes cause most snakebite deaths in Australia.

Habitat: Open woodland, scrub, grassland, farmland and urban fringes
Size: Average about 1.5 m; largest reliably measured 2.01 m
Diet: Mostly house mice and rats as adults; lizards when young
Range: Eastern Australia, parts of the Northern Territory, southern New Guinea
Conservation: Least Concern (IUCN 2018)
Authority: Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854

Habitat & range

The eastern brown snake is widespread in eastern Australia, from northern Queensland to South Australia, with isolated populations in the Northern Territory. Related populations in southern and eastern New Guinea reached the island from Australia during the Pleistocene, when land bridges joined the two (Williams et al. 2008). It lives in most habitats except rainforest and alpine areas, but prefers open country: woodland, scrubland and savannah grassland. It is often abundant on farmland and on the edges of towns and cities. The Australian Museum notes that land clearing for agriculture has helped the species, because it brought a ready supply of introduced rats and mice. When inactive it shelters under logs, rocks, sheets of iron and building material, in soil cracks and in animal burrows.

Diet & hunting

Eastern brown snakes hunt mainly by day and by sight. They actively search likely hiding places, then subdue prey with venom and sometimes by constriction. Young snakes eat mostly lizards and other cold-blooded prey, while larger adults take more mammals, especially introduced house mice and rats; frogs, birds, reptile eggs and other snakes are also eaten (Australian Museum; AVRU). Venom from juvenile snakes differs from that of adults: it lacks the clotting enzymes that make adult venom so dangerous to people and mammals, which fits a diet of lizards (Jackson et al. 2016).

Body & venom

Adults average about 1.5 m long; the largest reliably measured specimen was 2.01 m. The build is slender, the head small and barely wider than the neck. Colour ranges from light tan through chestnut and orange to almost black, and is fairly uniform; the belly is cream, yellow or orange with pinkish-orange, brown or grey blotches. Hatchlings have a dark patch on the head and nape, and some have dark body bands that fade with age. Its fangs are short, around 3 mm, and the average venom yield is small, about 4 mg. But in a 1979 mouse study its venom was the second most toxic of all snakes tested, after the inland taipan (Broad et al. 1979; AVRU). In people the main effect is venom-induced consumption coagulopathy: the blood loses its ability to clot. In 149 confirmed brown snake bites studied by the Australian Snakebite Project, over a third of envenomed patients had severe effects such as collapse, major bleeding or cardiac arrest (Allen et al. 2012). Antivenom is available.

Behaviour & conservation

When cornered, an eastern brown snake raises the front of its body in an S-shaped curve, spreads its neck and may open its mouth. This is a defensive display. In a field study near Leeton, New South Wales, researchers recorded 455 close encounters with radio-tracked snakes: about half the time the snake retreated, it usually relied on staying hidden otherwise, and it advanced on only 12 occasions (Whitaker & Shine 1999). Brown snakes (genus Pseudonaja) caused 23 of the 35 snakebite deaths recorded in Australia from 2000 to 2016 (Welton et al. 2017), largely because they are common where people live and work. The IUCN Red List classifies the eastern brown snake as Least Concern (2018).

Fun facts about Eastern Brown Snake

Hatchlings have a dark head and nape band, and some are banded along the body; the markings fade as they grow (Australian Museum).
Males wrestle in ritual combat for access to females, intertwining and pushing each other down for up to half an hour or more (Australian Museum).
Eggs take about 36 days to hatch at 30 °C but about 95 days at 25 °C (Australian Museum).
In a field study, wild eastern brown snakes were more likely to ignore a person wearing light-coloured clothing than one wearing dark clothing (Whitaker & Shine 1999).

Eastern Brown Snake vs Inland Taipan (venom comparison)

Drop for drop the inland taipan's venom is more toxic, but the eastern brown snake is far more often involved in bites because it lives where people do.

This is a comparison of two Australian elapids, not a recorded fight. In the 1979 mouse study that still anchors venom rankings, the inland taipan's venom was the most toxic of all snakes tested and the eastern brown snake's was second (Broad et al. 1979; AVRU). The inland taipan lives in remote cracking-clay plains of central-east Australia and rarely meets people. The eastern brown snake is common on farmland and suburban edges along the populous east coast, and brown snakes cause most of Australia's snakebite deaths (Welton et al. 2017). On toxicity alone the taipan takes it; for real-world impact, the eastern brown snake matters more.

Common questions about Eastern Brown Snake

Is the eastern brown snake the second most venomous snake in the world?

By one standard measure, yes. In a 1979 study of venom lethality in mice, eastern brown snake venom was the second most toxic of all snakes tested, after the inland taipan (Broad et al. 197990245-9); AVRU). The ranking is by toxicity, not by how many bites or deaths a snake causes. See our venomous snakes showdown.

How many deaths do eastern brown snakes cause in Australia?

Brown snakes cause most of Australia's snakebite deaths, but deaths are rare. Of 35 snakebite deaths recorded from 2000 to 2016, 23 were attributed to brown snakes (genus Pseudonaja), about two deaths a year from all snakes (Welton et al. 2017). The Australian Museum says the eastern brown causes more snakebite deaths than any other Australian snake (Australian Museum).

Are eastern brown snakes aggressive?

Rarely, according to field data. In 455 close encounters between a researcher and wild eastern brown snakes near Leeton, NSW, the snake retreated about half the time and otherwise mostly stayed still and hidden; it advanced only 12 times, and only three of those advances were offensive (Whitaker & Shine 1999). Cornered snakes rear up in an S-shaped defensive display and may bite (AVRU).

What does an eastern brown snake bite do to a person?

Mainly, it stops the blood from clotting. Every envenomed patient in a study of 149 confirmed brown snake bites developed venom-induced consumption coagulopathy, and over a third had severe effects such as collapse, major bleeding or cardiac arrest (Allen et al. 2012). The bite is often painless and hard to see, so any suspected bite needs first aid and urgent hospital care (Australian Museum).

How can you tell an eastern brown snake from other snakes?

Look for a slender, plain brown body and a small head. Adults are fairly uniform tan, chestnut, orange or near-black, with a cream to orange belly blotched with pinkish-orange or grey, and a head barely wider than the neck. Close relatives look very similar: the eastern brown has a flesh-pink mouth, while several other brown snakes have a mostly black one. It is also confused with the mulga snake and coastal taipan (Australian Museum).

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