"No reptile is found there nor could a serpent survive; for although serpents have often been brought from Britain, as soon as the ship approaches land they are affected by the scent of the air and quickly perish." (Ch. 1).
The Maltese claim that there are no snakes on Malta because St. Paul drove them out.
Old St Paddy was a smart cookie though - not only did he remove all the living snakes from Ireland, he also removed all the fossilised snake bones since time began, just to confuse the archaeologists. . . . ;-)