In the previous section I covered the history of snakes, how they came to be what they are now. But what are they? How do they live their lives, where do they live? This is what I will address in this section.
Snakes have a long and narrow body. Their internal organs are made to fit their long, narrow body type. Snakes only have one working lung, so it is vital that their environment is clean and uncontaminated.
An interesting fact to know; To find out how many “vertabreas” the snake has, you can count the number of scales on its belly. Usually there will be a new scale for each vertebra. Its jaw is developed so that the snake can swallow prey many times its size. The lower part of the jaw is not attached, as in most other animals, but it can be separated into two parts. In this way, its mouth can open, swallow prey, and then snap its jaw back together. When the snake does this, it looks like it is yawning, opening its mouth wide and closing it again.
Their vision is just incredible, they don’t see like we do; rather they see heat and movement. They also don’t hear anything but very low frequencies, so talking to a snake won’t work. You can scream at the top of your lungs, the snake can’t hear you. However, it feels vibration, so stomping on the ground will definitely get its attention. If you have ever seen a cobra hypnotized by someone playing a flute, you can be sure that the person is tapping their foot on the ground or something similar, as the snake would not hear the flute.
Males have two reproductive organs, the hemipenes. During mating, only one will carry sperm. With young snakes, you can sex them by popping them. That means that to check for a male, you pull out the hemipenes by applying pressure to the underside of the tail. Done wrong, this can injure the snake and leave it infertile, so you should always ask someone to show you how before trying it. This cannot be done with other snakes that are not very young. Males are usually slightly wider around the vent area before the tail tapers rapidly (due to the hemipenes on the inside), while in females the tail tapers more evenly. But this can be very hard to see with the naked eye, so the best way to determine a snake’s sex is to “test.” Propping is where you insert a probe into the snake’s vent and see how far it goes before meeting resistance. In males, the hemipenes cause the probe to enter deeper than in the female.
When it comes to births, snakes don’t make good parents. The parents are completely absent, he impregnates the female and leaves. The female then lays her eggs or has live young. Pythons and corn snakes lay eggs, while boas have live young. Some snakes lay on top of the eggs until they hatch, regulating the temperature for them, while others, like corn snakes, just lay them and leave. A pregnant snake is said to be “gravid.” After the babies are born or hatch, they are on their own. This could be nature’s way of regulating the snake population, because one snake can have many babies! However, without the help of parents, most do not make it. For these it really is survival of the fittest, but also a lot of luck!
skin and shedding
Snakeskin is scaly, but not slimy, which is a very common mistake. Snakes are NOT worms!
Its skin is made up of scales, which help the movement of the snake by clinging to the surface. As new cells grow under the snake’s skin, the new cells push the old ones up, creating a transparent skin. As the snake grows and the top layer of skin is pushed further, the snake goes through a molting process.
Molting has several phases; First, the skin becomes rough, and the snake’s belly usually turns pink. Then its eyes reach the “dull” stage, its eyes turn blue, and the snake is basically blind for a few days. This is because the snake is shedding the covering that covers its eyes. The snake then returns to its normal appearance and it is very difficult to see that it is molting. The next thing is to rub their skin against the surface, rocks, etc., to remove the skin from head to tail. It looks like a sock that is torn off and ends up inside out. The snake’s skin is supposed to come off in one piece. Young snakes shed frequently; every month or two. As they get older, their growth rate slows and they shed less frequently. Although they do most of their growth in their early years, snakes never stop growing. Adult snakes shed a few times a year. Shedding is also very important to get rid of parasites.
Habitat
Snakes can now be found all over the world, the only place where there are no snakes is in the arctic region. They are such adaptable creatures that there is simply no comparison to their success. They live in deserts, cities, oceans, lakes, forests, mountains, savannahs, tropical jungles, etc. The list could go on and on. Snakes are everywhere.
Snakes in colder areas usually go into a kind of hibernation during the winter, called brumation. Unlike hibernation, where pretty much everything shuts down and wakes up again in the spring, brumation is what you might call “doing nothing.” All body functions are intact and the snake even moves a little. However, it mostly lies there and waits for spring. Usually, the snake chooses a place underground, so that it can keep itself as warm as possible during the winter. Almost all snakes that live in an area with cool temperatures during the winter brumate, otherwise they would not survive.
There are many places where snakes that are not native to the area have been introduced and are now thriving. In many cases, this demonstrates a real challenge to the natural ecosystem, as new snakes drive out other species, or the simple fact that humans don’t want them there. That’s why people who have snakes can’t just go to the park and leave them! I cannot stress this enough, just look at what happened in the Everglades in Florida. Now there are anacondas and reticulated pythons breeding in an area where they don’t belong, because careless owners who were faced with snakes they couldn’t handle or wouldn’t let go. These types of actions can have fatal consequences.
Diet
All snakes are carnivorous, but the diet varies greatly depending on the habitat and size. Most eat rodents; mice, rats, rabbits, gerbils, etc. Others eat fish, eggs, lizards, and even other snakes. The very large species can eat practically everything from hippos to crocodiles.
Snakes are amazing in terms of patience, they can stay in one place for days, waiting for prey to pass by. If prey appears, the snake will use its method of attack, either constriction or venom, to kill it.
Snakes can’t taste anything and they don’t chew. There is more information on how snakes can swallow prey many times its size in the anatomy section, but basically its lower jaw splits in two while it eats, and muscle movements help the snake swallow. The teeth point towards the back of the mouth, so when it bites prey it is almost impossible for it to escape. The more the prey tries to push off, the better the snake holds on. It’s so smart, and so simple. Anyone who has been bitten by a snake knows that trying to get your finger out of your mouth rarely works. To release your finger, you actually have to push it further into your mouth to release it from the grip, and then open your mouth and release.
If the prey does not pose a threat, such as a pinkie mouse, the snake will usually not bother wasting energy killing it, instead swallowing it alive.
After the snake has eaten, it is time for it to digest its food. This is very important and the snake cannot be disturbed during this process. This process usually takes about 48 hours, and if the snake feels threatened, the prey is too large, or the weather is not warm enough, it will regurgitate (vomit). Regurgitation is a serious thing for all snakes, their systems are basically turned upside down. The best thing to do after spitting up is to wait at least ten days before trying to feed again. How often a snake eats varies from species to species. Very often, males (sometimes females) fast during the breeding season, regardless of whether they actually breed or not. Snakes may also not eat if they are molting.