About Snakes
What are snakes?
Snakes are legless reptiles and are cold blooded. Their
body temperature is controlled by the temperature of
the of the ground and the humidity of the air. During the winter,
snakes hibernate until warmer days. Though not all snakes
go into hibernation during the winter months, it is not unusual
to find a snake on an extremely cold day.
About snakes
It is said that snakes all snake are aggressive and will chase
a human if it gets close to them. This isn’t true. Snakes are
actually shy and afraid of humans. Most likely when approached
the snake will turn and flee into near by brush, however if no
escape path is available snakes will chase you hoping to scare
you away. Snake can be still aggressive, especially if threatened,
and strike at a human. Most people are bitten when trying to
kill or pick up snakes. Being bitten by any snake, venomous or
non-venomous, can be deadly because their mouths are full of
bacteria.
Skin and Scales
Many people who are unfamiliar with snakes assume that
their skin is cold and slimy. Actually Snake skin is really dry and
scaly and many time smooth. Their skin is made up of dead
cells. The same material that makes up human fingernails,
bird feathers, and hair. They have a top layer and a bottom layer
of skin. Their top layer covers their scales, and their scales cover
up their bottom layer of skin. Snakes scales are very important for
a snake. The scales on a snake provided protection for the snake,
keeps moisture within the snake, and give a beautiful coloration to
the snake allowing it to blend in with its environment, keeping it
hidden from predators and helping it to catch prey.
A snake has a certain amount of scales at birth. As it grows larger
it doen’t gain or lose its scales, its scales simply grow larger. When
a snake grows its scales literally outgrows its skin. For this reason
snakes have to shed their skin often.
Anatomy
Snake swallow their prey by opening their mouths wide and
using its top jaw to walk over its prey and its bottom jaw to pull
it into its mouth, while constantly covering it in saliva, and
eventually pulls it into the esophagus where it uses its muscles
to crush its prey. Some snake are constrictors, meaning they
wrap themselves around their prey and suffocate it before
swallowing it, and other snakes swallow its prey alive.
Venomous snakes delivers venom through two hollow teeth
called fangs. When a venomous snake bites it’s prey, it immobilizes
or kills it. The following are the three most important types of
toxins found in snake venom:
- Neurotoxins - Affect the nervous system by seizing up the nerve centers, often causing breathing to cease
- Cardiotoxins - Deteriorate the muscles of the heart, causing it to stop beating
- Hemotoxins - Cause the blood vessels to rupture, resulting in widespread internal bleeding
Some of these venomous may include:
- Agglutinins - makes the blood clot
- anticoagulants - makes the blood thin
If a snake is penetrated in any part of its body, the most common
thing that will happen is it will die. Its body organs go throughout its
body from head to tail. ( Except the very tip of its tail ). Below is an
image of a snakes vital organs.
How do snakes see?
Snake have no eyelids, which means they cannot close their eyes.
Instead, their eyes are protected by a clear scale that is part of
their skin and functions like a magnifying glass. Some snakes have
great vision and some, very poor vision.
How do snakes smell?
Snakes nostrils are only used for breathing. Snakes have a forked
tongue which they flicker in and out of their mouth picking up scents
from the air and transferring them to the two depressions on the roof
of their mouth.
How do snakes hear?
Snakes do not have outer ears but inner ears. They use their inner
ears by picking up vibrations from the ground through their body.
Where do snakes live?
There are about 2,400 species of snakes in the world. Snakes
live almost everywhere but their habitats vary, some snakes live
near a source of woodland or swamp, while others, such as the
Common Garter Snake, can be found in your back yard. Snakes can
be found in urban and rural areas. A snakes habitats varies
depending upon what they eat. Snakes can not survive in areas
that the ground stays frozen year round, so they do not live in
polar regions or at high mountain elevations.
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Go To Page [Home Page] [About Snakes] [Snake Identification] [Non-Venomous Snakes] [Venomous Snakes] [Snake Bites][Snake Stories]
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April 09 2007 11:37 pm
kyle delk on 21 Oct 2007 at 1:29 am #
you are cool i love your site and my mom loves it to
lex on 19 Jan 2008 at 5:26 am #
GREAT SITE I’VE LEARNED ALOT.TY.
kendra on 12 Apr 2008 at 8:24 pm #
thanks for the info. i am getting ready to teach a section on reptiles and i wanted to focus on snakes.