Snake
| Snakes Fossil range: Cretaceous - Recent |
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| Texas Coral Snake Micrurus tener |
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A snake is a member of about 19 reptile families (suborder Serpentes, order Squamata) that has no limbs, voice, ears, or eyelids. They also have a long, slender body.[2]
About 2,900 snake species are known to exist, and most of them live in the tropics. Their skin is covered with scales.[2] They can see well, and they can taste the air with their tongues by flicking them in and out. Though they do not have a voice, they hiss instead. Most live on the ground, others live in the water, and some live under the soil. Snakes do not have legs. Like all reptiles, snakes need the heat of the sun to control their body temperature. That's why most snakes are in the warm, humid tropical regions of the world.[3]
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[change] Poison
Snakes have lots of colors on their scales. Snakes that have dull coloured skin use it for camouflage. Those that have brightly coloured skin are usually poisonous. They use their bright colors to warn predators to stay off. Some non-poisonous snakes pretend to be poisonous by having the same patterns and bright colors of poisonous snakes to fool predators. [4]
[change] Shedding
Snakes need to shed their skin regularly while they grow. This is called moulting. Snakes shed their skin by rubbing their head against something rough and hard, like a piece of wood or a rock. This causes the skin, which is already stretched, to split open. The snake keeps on rubbing its skin on various rough objects until the skin peels off from its head. This lets it crawl out, turning the skin inside out.[4]
[change] Feeding
All snakes eat other animals. Some snakes are venomous. They use the poison in their teeth to help them bite and capture an animal at once. Constrictors are not venomous, so they simply strangle their prey. They move by pushing and pulling themselves with the muscles on the bottom of their bodies, and are very fast. They swallow their food whole, sometimes by dislocating their jaws. Once the snake's prey is in its body, its internal muscles crush it so the animal can be digested. They are cold-blooded carnivores and some eat large prey. Some feed on rodents such as mice, others may feed on birds, fish, eggs, lizards, or even other snakes. They capture their prey in many ways.
Even though snakes seem to eat a lot, they can go without eating for several days or longer.[5] People who own pet snakes feed them as infrequently as once per month. Some snakes can go as long as six months without a good meal.
[change] References
- ↑ Serpentes (TSN 174118). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 20 August 2007.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "snake (reptile) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia". britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/550283/snake. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ↑ "Snake Facts". antiguanracer.org. http://www.antiguanracer.org/html/racer/snakef.htm. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Facts about Snakes". buzzle.com. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-snakes.html. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ↑ "Snake Facts - Information on Snakes". snakefacts.net. http://www.snakefacts.net/. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
