Snake catchers who work in St George and Sutherland Shire say there will be an influx of snakes as cooler weather and heavy rain entices them out.
But they have warned against trying to move on any snakes you encounter at home or even trying to identify them yourself using community Facebook pages, which can result in dangerous misinformation.
It comes after several sightings of snakes and pythons in St George and Sutherland Shire in recent weeks.
A St George resident who said she came across a large snake while walking her dog in a Rockdale park recently took to Facebook to help identify the reptile.
She posted photos to the Rockdale Residents Unite! Facebook page asking: "Does anyone know what kind of snake this is?"
"Just spotted near the wetland area at Barton Park walking my dog," she wrote, along with photos of the snake in question.
Her post drew numerous comments, including from a number of people who sought to identify the snake.
Suggestions ranged from a tree snake, to an olive python, to a golden crowned snake, and even a highly venomous Eastern brown snake, before Cory Kerewaro, of Reptile Relocation Sydney, identified it as a mildly venomous marsh snake.
Another Facebook user, this time in Sutherland Shire, recently posted pictures of a large python which had taken up residence on her car.
The woman said she got the shock of her life when she found the python outside her Caringbah South home.
She posted a photo on the Facebook group Sutherland Shire's This That & Everything with the question: "Has anyone's python gone walkabouts? Found near our local botanical gardens".
Mr Kerewaro said marsh snakes were commonly found in St George and Sutherland Shire and especially liked damp locations such as wetlands and creek beds, where there was an abundance of frogs, lizards and other small animals to feed on.
He said while snakes were shy creatures and usually tried to get away from people, you were more likely to see them this time of year.
"This time of year you get a lot of movement," he said.
"The juveniles are coming through now. They have been hatching.
"All the adults are looking for food because of the cooler weather.
"Right now is pretty much perfect weather for them with all the rain and the humidity. It also brings out the frogs and all the little animals for them to eat."
He said red-bellied black snakes, found in Sutherland Shire, feed mainly on frogs, so would be looking for food around now.
Other snake species found in the shire, such as the bandy-bandy, mostly live underground so will be among those forced out of their shelters by the heavy rain.
Mr Kerewaro recommended calling a snake catcher if you want to identify a snake, and not resort to asking Facebook groups or forums.
He recalled seeing someone post a photo of a juvenile Eastern brown snake - which looks quite different to an adult - on such a page and a commenter saying it was a children's python and safe to pick up.
"If someone did pick it up, even though it was juvenile it would still be quite venomous," he said.
Mr Kerewaro also recommended against relocating pythons in case they were not native to the area.
"There is only one type of python that is native to the area and that is the diamond python," he said.
"If you find another one, chances are it is an escaped pet or got here some other way, and it can be detrimental and quite damaging to our local wildlife as well."
He said the python pictured recently on a woman's car in Caringbah South was in fact a morelia bredli python, which had probably been a pet. It is not native to the area.
He recommended always contacting a licenced snake catcher.
He works closely with other snake catchers so if one is busy they can ensure someone else is available to help.
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