A warning has been issued to sunbathers that heatwaves could trigger deadly snake attacks. According to the RSPCA 700,000 pet snakes a escape a “lot more” in the boiling heat as the climate makes them more eager to breed.
Evie Button, senior scientific officer at the charity, said: “The warmer they are, the more active they are, so that’s why they escape a lot more in summer.”
Calls to the RSPCA’s snake hotline are at an all-time high following snakes – some of which are venomous – that are kept by fans of reptiles in the UK have hiked in number by 500,000 in the past year.
Pet Keen, which advises pet owners how to best keep their animals, says there are now around 100 adder bites reported each year across Britain.
Last year the RSPCA was flooded with over 100 calls a month about pet snakes escaping via windows.
Three snakes are native to Britain – the venomous adder, the harmless grass snake and the smooth snake.
Six-foot rat snakes also call the UK home, living in undergrowth along Regent’s Canal in London.
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