SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 63: Learn What to Do if You Find a Snake in Your Tent

Finding a snake in your tent would be an unexpected surprise, especially if you discovered it while reaching for your sleeping bag or boots. The important thing is not to panic or try to handle it. Snakes generally want to avoid people, and giving one space is safer for both you and the animal.

Your challenge is to learn how to respond calmly and safely if this ever happens while camping.

Your Challenge

Learn the correct steps to take if you discover a snake inside your tent, and practise explaining them using a simple imaginary scenario.

Do not try to find a snake or encourage one into a tent to complete this challenge.

What You’ll Need

• A quiet place to work through the scenario
• Your knowledge of basic wildlife safety
• A notebook, if you want to record the steps

Take the Challenge

1. Stay calm and stop moving towards it. If you discover a snake in your tent, avoid sudden movements and do not try to touch it. Give it as much space as you safely can.
2. Keep your distance. Do not attempt to identify it at close range, pick it up, trap it or kill it. In the UK, the adder is venomous, and even a snake you believe to be harmless should be left alone.
3. Give it a way out if you can do so safely. If you can open an exit without approaching or cornering the snake, do so and move away. Do not reach around it, shake the tent or use a stick to force it out.
4. Move away and wait. Keep other campers and pets away from the area. If the snake does not leave, contact the campsite manager or an appropriate local wildlife organisation for advice. Do not re-enter the tent until you are confident it is safe.
5. Check your belongings carefully. Once the snake has left and the area is safe, inspect sleeping bags, footwear and other items before using them. Do not put your hands into hidden spaces without checking them first.
6. Know what to do if someone is bitten. Treat any suspected snakebite as a medical emergency. Call 999 and follow the call handler’s instructions. Keep the affected person as still as possible and do not attempt to suck out venom, cut the wound or tie something tightly around the limb. The NHS provides further advice in its snakebite guidance.

Check Your Results

Check your knowledge against these points:

• Do you know not to touch, catch or kill the snake?
• Can you explain how to give it space and a safe opportunity to leave?
• Do you know when to contact the campsite manager or a wildlife organisation?
• Do you know which first-aid actions to avoid?

Complete the Challenge

Your challenge is complete when you can explain the steps you would take if you found a snake in your tent, including how you would keep people safe and what you would do if someone were bitten.

You can submit a photograph of your written response or a photograph of your camping setup as evidence. There is no need to use a real snake.

How to Submit Your Challenge

Submit your evidence

1. Go to your SGUK member profile.
2. Open Social Activity.
3. Upload a photograph of your evidence to the activity wall.
4. Add the hashtag #SGUKChallenge63.
5. Share it for verification.

Challenge 63 Checklist

Want to Push Yourself?

Extend the scenario: imagine the snake is near the tent entrance and you cannot leave without approaching it. Explain how you would keep your distance, alert others and get appropriate help without trying to move the animal yourself.

What’s Next?

If you haven’t completed the previous challenge, try SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 62: Learn the UK’s Rules on Feeding Wildlife. You can complete the SGUK Challenges in any order.

Once you’ve shared your evidence and it has been verified, the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 63 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.

Learn. Practise. Master.

That’s what the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge is all about.