Biggest live death adder ever recorded

9 October 2026, Sydney: The Australian Reptile Park and the Australian Museum Herpetology Department have declared, that a Common Death Adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) named Shazza, is the largest living death adder recorded.

Shazza has been part of the Australian Reptile Park’s lifesaving venom program for 9 years after being wild caught in the Mid North Coast region. From the moment she arrived, keepers knew she was unusually large.

Common Death Adders are typically much smaller, with the average snout-vent length of adults from southeast Australia being 42cm for males to 55 cm for females. When Shazza underwent a health check at the Australian Reptile Park in 2023, she was already an extraordinary 102 centimetres total length and weighed 1.41 kilograms.

Since then, Park Manager Billy Collett has watched Shazza continue to grow and decided it was time to find out exactly how big she had become.

To add scientific expertise to the measurement, Mr Collett invited Dane Trembath, Collection Manager of Herpetology at the Australian Museum Research Institute, to inspect Shazza and assist with confirming her latest size. Mr Trembath manages the Australian Museum’s Herpetology Collection, the largest collection of its kind in Australia. He has measured 1000’s of snake specimens both in the field and laboratory.

Together, Mr Collett and Mr Trembath carefully measured and weighed Shazza, revealing she is now a whopping 110cm centimetres total length with a snout to vent length of 95cm and weighs 1.55kg.

The result confirmed just how extraordinary Shazza has become, placing her well beyond the usual size range recorded for a Common Death Adder.

“The moment I first laid eyes on her… I knew she was just a monster and her potential to get over a metre was definitely there.” Bill stated. “I don’t want to get bitten by any snakes, but I cannot get bitten by her. She’s so big, her venom yield are so big, it’s frightening.”

“She’s a big death adder, way bigger than I thought she would be.” Said Dane Trembath. “I’d say she’s almost double the size of a normal death adder.”

“Most snakes have this initial growth spurt when they are born … she’s way beyond that so her growth will now slow down. As she slowly grows, she may actually surpass the biggest death adder ever recorded but we don’t know how long that is gonna take.”

Shazza’s contribution to the Australian Reptile Park extends far beyond her remarkable size. She is also a valuable member of the Park’s venom program and currently produces the largest venom yields of any death adder in the program.

Shazza can produce an extraordinary 270 milligrams of venom in a single milking. She continues to provide significant venom yields during regular milkings, with her venom contributing to the production of lifesaving death adder antivenom.

The Australian Reptile Park has been supplying terrestrial snake venom for antivenom production since the 1950s. More than 200 venomous snakes are currently part of the program and are milked fortnightly at the Weigel Venom Centre. The program is estimated to help save around 300 Australian lives each year and has contributed to saving more than 25,000 lives since its inception. Shazza has made her own contribution to that lifesaving work, providing venom that has helped maintain Australia’s supply of death adder antivenom.

“Her venom yields are literally twice the size of the average Common Death Adder so there’s no doubt she’s saving more human lives with the venom she’s producing.” Said Billy Collett.

At approximately 15 years of age, Shazza still has more growing to do.

Keepers will continue closely monitoring her length, weight and condition, with the possibility that Australia’s record-breaking death adder could one day pass the largest specimen recorded at 117 centimetres with a snout-vent length of 101 cm. That specimen resides in the Australian Museum Collection, which is home to over 180,000 Herpetological scientific specimens, which Mr. Trembath manages.

For now, at 110 centimetres and 1.55kg, Shazza has well and truly earned her place as one of the Australian Reptile Park’s most remarkable snakes.

Media Contacts

Ivy Shih, Australian Museum
0439160475
Ivy.shih@australian.museum

Chloe Burgess-Jones, Australian Reptile Park
0455 066 607
chloe@reptilepark.com.au

About the Australian Museum

The nation’s first museum, the Australian Museum (AM) was founded in 1827 and will mark its 200-year anniversary in 2027. It is internationally recognised as a natural science and culture institution focused on Australia and the Pacific. The AM holds more than 22 million objects and specimens in its collection, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. It pursues a mission to ignite wonder, inspire debate and drive change. The AM’s vision is to be a leading voice for the richness of life, the Earth and culture in Australia and the Pacific and commits to transforming the conversation around climate change, the environment and wildlife conservation; being a strong advocate for First Nations cultures; and continuing to develop world-leading science through the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI). The AM is not only a dynamic source of reliable scientific information on the environmental and social challenges facing our region, but also a trusted site of cultural exchange and learning.