ABOUT THE AFRICAN SNAKEBITE INSTITUTE.

Training:

The African Snakebite Institute is the leading provider of Snake Awareness, First Aid for Snakebite and Venomous Snake Handling training in Africa!

We provide both public and corporate on-site training. Our public courses take place at various venues around South Africa and are open to all members of the public, from all walks of life. From those with a general interest in learning more about snakes to avid snake enthusiasts.

We offer corporate on-site training in 19 African countries, and our clients include large mining operations, solar and wind farms, construction sites, government institutions, game reserves and game lodges.

Our courses are in-depth and up to date, covering all aspects of snake awareness and safe handling techniques.

Our trainers collectively have over 60 years of safe snake handling experience, writing scientific publications and presentation experience. Our key focus is on spreading snake awareness and teaching safe handling protocols.

Our CEO, Johan Marais, is a well-known African herpetologist with over 40 years’ experience and he is also author of several popular books on reptiles. Our safe snake handling protocols were developed by Johan Marais while working as curator at some of Africa’s leading snake parks and as a result of visits to various reptile parks and research facilities in the USA, Mexico, U.K., Spain, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, China, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and various African countries.

We pride ourselves on teaching delegates the safest possible protocols for capturing and releasing venomous snakes and have a dedicated and dynamic team of trainers who are all passionate about spreading snake awareness and education.

Equipment:

We are the largest suppliers of quality snake handling equipment in Africa. Most of our products are proudly manufactured in South Africa and our designs have been tried and tested over many years.

Education:

We have a large following on social media and share daily educational content on our social platforms. We also have a free app ASI Snakes – which is a hugely popular resource for those wishing to learn more about snakes.

Reviews

African Snakebite Institute

5.0

Based on 255 reviews

review us on

Lauren Agenbag

18:45 01 Jul 25

Fantastic course! I attended the level 1 snake awareness and venomous snake handling course. It was very interesting, insightful and enjoyable. I had a great time and would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in learning about snakes.

Response from the owner 19:29 01 Jul 25

Thanks Lauren, hope to see you at Bootcamp soon.

Emma Fagan

14:37 25 Jun 25

Great courses teaching safe handling for both the handler and the snake. Highly recommend!

Response from the owner 14:59 25 Jun 25

Thanks Emma, looking forward to seeing you at a future course.

Francois du Toit

09:33 29 May 25

Amazing course! Had a wonderful time.

Response from the owner 06:30 30 May 25

Great to have you there Francois!

Moyra Keane

09:37 27 May 25

The Snake Awareness and Snakebite First Aid course was amazing. I learnt a great deal of interesting and useful information. Excellent presenter and very professionally organised.

Response from the owner 06:12 28 May 25

Thanks for your review Moyra! Glad to hear you enjoyed the course.

Darren Evans

06:59 27 May 25

I really enjoyed the amount of practical time we had. Gives you time to gain the right confidence. The trainers had a wealth of practical advice and experience. So it was lovely picking their brain. This was the third time I've done the Bootcamp, but first time the tree scenario was included - which was great. I also liked the smaller group giving everyone a few more opportunities to practice the techniques.

Response from the owner 13:22 28 Jun 22

Thanks for the kind words. See you at a future course.

Rudie Cronje

15:05 20 May 25

I wanted to improve my nature guiding skills, but I had little knowledge about snakes and had never handled them before. The team that presented the course was extremely knowledgeable and ensured that all handling was safe. The critical role of first aid was well presented. Thank you for this great opportunity.

Response from the owner 07:21 21 May 25

Great to have you there for both days Rudie!

Leigh-Ann Van Der Linde

13:03 20 May 25

Had such an amazing experience last year with Level 1 & this year with Level 2! Keep up the awesome work ASI! 😉

Response from the owner 13:17 20 May 25

Thanks Leigh-Ann! Great to have you on the courses.

Maria Scheepers

13:15 09 May 25

Needed snake gaters, GOT IT
Highly recommended!

Response from the owner 06:54 12 May 25

Hi Maria, thanks for your review, we are so glad you are happy with your purchase.

Doron Frantzen

18:14 13 Apr 25

Thank you Sake, Shawn and team for an awesome weekend about snake awareness and handling !!!!
Appreciating snakes with more insight and confidence 😃

Response from the owner 05:35 14 Apr 25

Thanks for your kind words Doron. It was great to have you there!

Crispin Thompson

16:50 21 Jan 25

The ASI Snake Awareness, First Aid for Snakebite and Venomous Snake Handling course provided an ideal opportunity for me to expand my knowledge of Southern African snakes, scorpions and spiders. The information and instruction provided by Johan Marais and his team was very useful and the calm, friendly atmosphere made the experience even more enjoyable.

Antje Madden

17:19 20 Jan 25

I attended the Advanced Snake Handling course because I needed more confidence with how to handle a snake situation by myself. I was so impressed by Johan and the Trainers. The way the course was run was top class and I now have more confidence. I can highly recommend the course. Good luck for the future.

Bernard Madden

Mariëtte Van Rooyen

10:26 20 Jan 25

I attended the had the greatest experience on 18 & 19 January 2025 with the ASI team!
I attended both the "Snake Awareness, First aid for snakebite and Venomous Snake Handling", and the "WC- Venomous Snake Handling Bootcamp" courses.
The team (Johan Marais, Tim, Quin and Megan) is professional, they assisted and supported each person under their individual circumstances (fear, doubt, hesitancy, eagerness) during both the courses.

It was great to have a female instructor's (Megan) guidance and understanding during the course.

Thank you ASI team!

Sorita Holtzhausen

01:36 22 Dec 24

(For the website) I found a scorpion in my house and this was the best identification and helpful information. PS it was Plain Pymy-thicktail, safely relocated it to the garden it came from.

Matthew Boshoff

12:21 11 Dec 24

All the instructors were really nice and helpful with any questions, they all made sure your safety was the number one priority. I recommend if you regularly encounter snakes or just love snakes to do the course.

Daniella Jones

09:10 25 Nov 24

Thank you to the ASI team, we completed the venomous snake handling course on Saturday. We thoroughly enjoyed the course. A special thanks to Johan, Shawn, Tim, Brian and Teacher - your team is absolutely incredible! We will definitely be partaking in the bootcamp training very soon!

Thank you team!

Reviews

Accreditations

Johan Marais is a well-known African herpetologist with over 40 years’ experience and author of several books on reptiles. The African Snakebite Institute provides a variety of snake awareness, first aid for snakebite and venomous snake handling courses that are accredited by the International Society of Zoological Sciences (ISZS), and registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) for CPD points. The course contents and handling methods has been developed over many years and after visits to snake parks and reptile research facilities in various countries throughout the world.

Reviews

Reviews

Accreditations

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