If you ever dig up a worm-like creature from the garden and it pokes out its forked tongue, you've found a snake. A blind snake.
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Don't be alarmed though, they have no venom and only want to go back underground from whence they came.
Blind snakes are, predictably, blind. They have a thickened skin covering their entire body, allowing them protection against the bite of their prey - delicious juicy termite babies. Eggs, pupae and larvae of ants and termites form the dietary basis of blind snakes in Australia.
These cryptic species are poorly known. It is difficult to study or keep a nocturnal animal that lives underground and feeds on unconventional prey items. Blind snakes are most often seen on warm rainy nights.
They are even difficult to identify. Forty-six species have been described throughout Australia and specimens often require hours of counting scales and examining their shape under a dissecting microscope to determine which species they belong to. Much of our research comes from museum specimens. They tend to hold still.
Blind snakes form their own scientific family, meaning they are all more closely related to each other than to other snake families like tree snakes, sea snakes or pythons. You can tell them from an earth worm by their small scales, residual eye spots, and snakey movement from side-to-side. If you pick one up, they will often dig their hardened tail into your hand. A foul odour may accompany their presence.
One of the most commonly encountered species of blind snakes is the "flower pot snake", an invasive creature that now occurs through Africa, Asia, America and Australia. It is small, skinny and black. Biologically, it is interesting because it is the only species of snake where females reproduce soley on their own, without sexual input from a male.
It is the only species of snake where females reproduce solely on their own
Blind snakes are part of the environment and if you don't find them cute, they are useful for a few other reasons. As a burrowing species they are mini engineers like earth worms and other burrowers - reworking the soil and sediments, mixing and aerating.
A small and juicy bite size animal makes blind snakes food for owls, mammals and reptiles. One fierce predator of blind snakes is the Bandy-bandy - a member of the venomous snake family the Elapids - this group of black and white snakes has evolved to specialise on eating blind snakes. Blind snakes are harmless and weird and worthy of a gander if you find one out and about. So pay attention to wormy things in future and you might find a fun surprise.
