Newbie’s Wildlife

Newbie’s Wildlife 🐍Reptile & Wildlife Conservationist
🦎 Rescue, Rehabilitate & Educate
📺 New YouTube Video Every Tuesday!
🐨 Sydney, Australia
(2)

A wildly successful day herping and searching for native wildlife right on Sydney's doorstep on a warm autumn day.We kic...
06/06/2026

A wildly successful day herping and searching for native wildlife right on Sydney's doorstep on a warm autumn day.

We kicked things off strong with countless Cunningham's skinks and water dragons basking on the sandstone cliffs.
Then, much to my disgust, we somehow ended up in the water at Manly of all places...

It was actually turned out to be pretty special, schools of fish everywhere, a grouper, and even a stingray to top it off. My first time snorkeling, and definitely not my last (although I'l still take the desert any day).

As night fell, we hit the Sydney sandstone again and managed to pull up a juvenile diamond python and a broad-tailed gecko hiding in the cracks.
What a haul!

Check the Full video in comments!

05/06/2026

Walking along the creek bank, I spotted this beautiful diamond python preparing to cross the creek using a fallen tree.

At first, I thought, surely not… he’ll change his mind. But as I sat and watched, he kept moving steadily across. I still had my doubts, no arms, no legs, and he wasn’t even wrapping his entire body around the log. I was convinced he’d either slip down or end up in the water. 😂

But after quietly watching for no more than five minutes, he did it! Crossed the whole way without any dramas.

It’s honestly incredible what these limbless animals are capable of. Definitely one of the coolest wildlife encounters I’ve had the chance to witness so far.

And those yellows… absolutely stunning. What an incredible animal!

04/06/2026

Scrolling back through my camera roll and getting hit with all the memories of the incredible variety of wildlife I used to rescue and care for.

This was a Joey brushtail possum and her mum from around 5 years ago. I can't remember exactly why they came into care, possibly a suspected poisoning or cat attack. This was me doing a check-up before they headed off for longer-term rehabilitation.

Looking through old photos and videos definitely makes me miss working with so many different species and all their unique personalities.

The last few years have been incredibly tough, so whenever I've been able to, I've mainly focused on rescuing and rehabilitating reptiles. I've still done the occasional rescue here and there, birds, mammals, and even a spotted-tail quoll a few months back.

Hopefully one day I'll get back to the chaos of juggling 1000 animals again 😂

To everyone who's followed along and supported me, thank you. I'll probably never be able to explain how much these reptiles, and all of you, have helped me through some really difficult years. Genuinely... thank you! ❤️

03/06/2026

How much wildlife can you find in Sydney Harbour in a single day?

🐍 LINK TO FULL VIDEO IN COMMENTS! 🐍

Join us as we explore Sydney on a mission to find as many wild animals as possible in one day. From reptiles hiding amongst the sandstone cliffs to marine life beneath the harbour waters.

Our adventure starts with some incredible reptile sightings, including Cunningham's skinks and Eastern water dragons basking on the cliffs edge.

Next, we grab our snorkel gear and head underwater to see what Sydney Harbour has to offer. Surrounded by schools of fish and a variety of marine life, the highlight comes right at the end when we encounter a beautiful stingray cruising through the shallows.

As the sun sets, we head back out for one final wildlife search. The night session pays off with two amazing reptile finds, a young Diamond Python and a stunning Sydney Broad-tailed Gecko, providing the perfect ending to an unforgettable day of wildlife spotting!

02/06/2026

One stop I never skip when passing through Broken Hill on the edge of outback New South Wales.

Hidden amongst these rocky hills lives one of Australia's most fascinating reptiles, the Gidgee Skink (Egernia stokesii).

Unlike most lizards, Gidgee Skinks live in tight knit family groups, often sharing the same rocky crevice for years. They're also one of the few reptile species known to form long term pair bonds, with males and females often remaining together season after season.

These lizards also give birth to live young rather than laying eggs, and those youngsters often stay with their parents long after birth, creating family colonies rarely seen in the reptile world.

I've been lucky enough to find these incredible skinks both around Broken Hill and in South Australia near Whyalla.

There are still plenty more species of egernia on my list, and I can't wait to track them down in the years ahead!

01/06/2026

Something a little different, but still pretty cool 🤷‍♂️🐍

While spotlighting geckos along the side of the highway, we came across this snake lying in a dried up creek bed. Most likely a very unlucky strap-snouted brown snake.

It had most likely been hit on the road at some point before making its way a few metres off the highway to its final resting place.

Nothing goes to waste out here. Insects, scavengers and countless other organisms would have recycled every part of this animal back into the ecosystem rather than leaving it flattened on the bitumen.

Ironically, this was my first ever encounter with a Strap-Snouted Brown Snake. Thankfully I’ve now seen one alive.

It's a harsh world out there!

31/05/2026

While this footage is specific to one development, the reality is that the same story is playing out right across Australia. Every year, more native habitat disappears, leaving wildlife with fewer places to feed, breed and survive.

Many of the animals shown in this video are species I have personally found, filmed or rescued in the surrounding area over the years.

From turtles, waterbirds and echidnas to goannas, snakes, lizards and countless other native species, this landscape was once their home.

Development is unfortunately a part of a growing population, but it comes at a cost. Once an ecosystem is destroyed, it can take centuries to recover, if it ever recovers at all.

The loss of habitat remains one of the biggest threats facing Australian wildlife today, and it's a conversation we need to be having more often.

What are your thoughts on developments like this? Can we find a better balance between growth and protecting the wildlife that was here first?

30/05/2026

As I rolled into Broken Hill, my phone rang. It was Zac, the local snake catcher. He’d just caught a Strap-Snouted Brown Snake and was about to release it. There was no chance I was missing that opportunity!

This was my first time seeing a strappy and what a snake it was. This species is a close relative of the Eastern Brown Snake but is far less commonly encountered. Living out in some of the harshest environments Australia has to offer, these snakes are perfectly adapted to life in the the outback.

Seeing one up close was a cracker experience.
But I can’t fully tick this species off the list just yet. I still need to find one on my own out in the wild. I’ve spent countless hours searching through their range over the years, but they’re definitely becoming one of my unicorn species.

Hopefully next season the outback decides to cut me a break 🤞🐍

29/05/2026

Trying to escape Sydney’s horrible weather, this snake attempted to squeeze through a sliding door and into a house for shelter… unfortunately the homeowner shut the door on the animal to prevent it from coming in.

Panic instantly set in thinking it was a baby Eastern Brown Snake. They managed to contain the snake overnight in a pillow slip and tub before calling the next morning, worried the animal may have been injured when trapped with the door.

I arrived expecting an Eastern Brown Snake that hopefully wasn’t too injured. I took the pillow slip to the nearest park, opened the bag and realised this wasn’t an Eastern Brown at all.

It was an elusive Red-naped Snake, a secretive little species that spends a lot of its life hidden beneath leaf litter, loose soil and gardens hunting skinks.

The poor little guy was still active, tongue flicking and moving well, but unfortunately had a few dents along the body and bruising on the belly from the sliding door incident.

I’m confident he’ll make a full recovery. I’ll hold onto him for a short period to monitor him closely before releasing him back into the wild where he belongs.

This animal was found right in the middle of suburbia. Species like this could spend years living quietly in our backyards without anybody ever knowing they’re there.

An incredibly underrated little species that more Aussies should know about!

28/05/2026

In the red corner… me.�In the blue corner… Australia’s deadliest snake.

This eastern brown snake had been basking along the edge of the garden for over a week. Eventually, the homeowners decided he probably wasn’t moving on anytime soon and called us in.

By the time I arrived, he’d vanished again. We tore apart the entire garden bed searching… nothing. After one final lap around the property, we decided to check the spot one last time and there he was. The second he saw us, he disappeared straight back into a tiny hole beneath the slab.

Luckily, I managed to get hands on him just before his entire body vanished underground. After hanging onto the back end for a minute or so, he decided to come back out and test his luck… and from there it was game on.

One thing I want people to notice is where I’m holding the snake when I first remove him from the hole. I’ve seen a number of videos lately of people yanking snakes by the very tip of the tail, visibly stretching the spine. This can potentially cause serious damage to the snake’s fragile vertebrae and shows a complete lack of care for the animal’s welfare. A snake should always be supported past the cloaca even with a normal everyday catch. Animal welfare should always be first priority, no excuse.

I briefly put him down to readjust my grip and grab my bag… then we had ourselves an old-fashioned standoff.

What this video shows is not aggression or “chasing.” In reality, it’s the complete opposite. The moment the snake first saw me, it retreated to its burrow. Once removed, it displayed defensive behaviour and struck in an attempt to scare me away and create distance. The second I gave it space, all it wanted to do was escape.
And one of the funniest things about eastern browns? Most of the time they’ll jump straight into the bag for you. To them it looks like one big dark safe hiding place… and off they go.

Definitely a heart-racing catch from start to finish!

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