Snakes

This page is going to be about snakes and I will show you a picture of my snake, "Jake".
Snakes are reptiles. There are some that are dangerous.
Garter snake~ Harmless snake of the genus Thamnophis.

Abundant from Canada to Central America. Garter snakes are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Colubridae.
There are many common species; members of most species are about 2 ft long. Most garter snakes are striped or banded lengthwise, and some are spotted between the stripes. The common garter snake of the NE United States, Thamnophis sirtalis, varies in color and pattern but is usually blackish or brownish with three yellow stripes. The ribbon snake, T. sauritus, is a very slender garter snake that prefers wet places.
Less aquatic as a group than the related water snakes, they are found near water in dry country and are widely distributed in moist regions. They prey on cold-blooded animals, chiefly frogs, toads, small fish, and earthworms.
Females bear live young in large litters, sometimes numbering 50 or more.

Boa~ Name for live-bearing constrictor snakes of the family Boidae, found mostly in the Americas.

Best known is the boa constrictor (Constrictor constrictor), which lives in a variety of terrestrial habitats from S Mexico to central Argentina. This family, which also comprises the egg-laying pythons of the Old World, includes the largest of all snakes, as well as many smaller ones. Over 30 boa species are found from Mexico to South America, with the greatest variey in the tropics, and two in the United States.
Members of the boa family have two functional lungs instead of one, as is found in other snakes, and vestiges of hind limbs; these primitive characteristics are indicative of their relationship to lizards. It averages 6 to 9 ft in length, occasionally reaching 14 ft , and has dark brown diamond markings on a lighter background. Each of the two tiny, internal leg bones ends in an external horny claw; the claws are much more prominent in males than in females. Boas may be terrestrial, arboreal, or burrowing. Some are brightly colored, like the green and white emerald tree boa of the tropics (Boa canina), or iridescent, like the wide-ranging rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchris).
Boas capture their prey by striking with their teeth and simultaneously throwing their bodies in a coil around the victim. They then squeeze the animal so that, unable to expand its rib cage, it suffocates. Like other snakes, boas swallow the prey whole.
The South American anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is a semiaquatic boa that inhabits swamps and river shallows, catching animals that come to drink. The longest member of the boa family and the thickest of all snakes, it may reach 25 ft in length and 3 ft in girth.
The rubber boa (Charina bottae) is found in moist regions of the far W United States and extreme SW Canada. It is a burrower, about 18 in. long, with a narrow, blunt head, broad, blunt tail, and silver-green skin. It feeds chiefly on lizards and rodents. The rosy boa (Lichanura roseofusca) is found in chaparral in the SW United States and N Mexico; it grows about 3 ft long. It has large, dark brown spots on a lighter background. Several species of sand boa (Eryx) are distributed from India and central Asia to N Africa and SE Europe; all are burrowers in sand. There are also several boa species on Madagascar and several on Pacific islands. Boas are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Boidae.

Copperhead~ Poisonous snake, Ancistrodon contortrix, of the E United States. Copperheads are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Crotalidae.

Like its close relative, the water moccasin, the copperhead is a member of the pit viper family and detects its warm-blooded prey by means of a heat-sensitive organ behind the nostril. The body, which may reach a length of 4 ft, is hazel brown with chestnut-colored crossbands above and pinkish white with dark spots below. The head is a pale copper color.
Copperheads inhabit rocky areas with thick underbrush, even in heavily populated regions.
They feed chiefly on small mammals, but will also capture large insects, frogs, and other snakes.
They are most active in late afternoon and early evening. The young are born alive. Copperheads are not aggressive and usually attempt escape when threatened, but they strike swiftly if startled or attacked. The bite causes severe pain and illness in humans but is seldom fatal.

Coral snake~ Name for poisonous New World snakes of the same family as the Old World cobras. Coral snakes are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Elapidae.

About 30 species inhabit Mexico, Central America, and N South America; two are found in the United States.
The Eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius), or harlequin snake, is found in the SE United States and N Mexico. It is a burrowing snake with a small, blunt head and a cylindrical body, averaging 2 1/2 ft in length. The body is ringed with bands of black, red, and yellow; the tail has yellow and black rings only.
The Sonoran, or Western, coral snake (Micruroides euryxanthus) is a rather rare species found in the SW United States and NW Mexico. It is about 18 in. long and has much broader bands of yellow than those of the Eastern species.
Coral snakes can be distinguished from a number of similarly colored harmless snakes by the fact that they are the only ones with red bands touching yellow ones. The venom of coral snakes, like that of cobras, acts on the nervous system and causes paralysis; the mortality rate among humans who are bitten is high. However, coral snakes are infrequently encountered because of their burrowing habits, and they seldom bite unless handled. They feed on other snakes and on lizards.

Rattlesnake~ Poisonous New World snake of the pit viper family, distinguished by a rattle at the end of the tail. Most species are classified in the genus CrotalusRattlesnakes are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Crotalidae.

It is from 3 1/2 to 5 ft long and is yellow or tan with wide, dark crossbands. The head is triangular, being widened at the base. The rattle is a series of dried, hollow segments of skin, which, when shaken, make a whirring sound. Like other pit vipers, they have heat-sensitive organs in pits on the sides of the head, which help them locate and strike at their prey. The erectile fangs are folded back in the mouth, except when the snake strikes.
When the snake is alarmed, it shakes its tail, and the noise serves as a warning to the attacker. While the snake is young, three or four segments are usually added each year, one at each molt. After maturity fewer develop and old ones start to break off.
Rattlesnakes feed on rodents, birds, and other warm-blooded animals.
The venom is highly toxic to humans and occasionally proves fatal.. Rattlesnakes bear live young.
The timber rattlesnake, C. horridus, is found from S Maine to NE Florida and W to Iowa and Texas.
The largest and deadliest species is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, C. adamanteus, of the S and SE United States, which reaches a length of 5 to 8 ft. The western diamondback, C. atrox, is shorter and thicker.
The western, or prairie, rattlesnake, C. viridis, sometimes lives in prairie-dog burrows.
The sidewinder, C. cerastes, is a North American desert species.
The approximately 30 Crotalus species range from S Canada to N Argentina.
The genus Sistrurus comprises the three pygmy rattlesnake species of the United States and Mexico.
The smallest, S. miliarius, of the SE United States, is under 18 in. long.

Water moccasin or cottonmouth~ Highly venomous snake, Ancistrodon piscivorus, of the swamps and bayous of the S United States. It is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Crotalidae.

Like the closely related copperhead, it is a pit viper and has a heat-sensitive organ for detecting warm-blooded prey.
The young are born live. The young snake is a pale reddish brown with transverse dark brown bands edged with white; as it ages the colors dull to a blotched olive or brown and then to an unmarked olive or blackish in old specimens. The maximum length is 6 ft, the average from 3 to 4 ft.
A good climber, the water moccasin often relaxes on branches overhanging the water. If startled it erects its head and shows the white interior of its mouth—hence the name cottonmouth.
It eats both warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals. It is aggressive in the wild state but may become quite tame in captivity.

Python~ Name for nonvenomous constrictor snakes of the boa family, found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the S Pacific islands. Pythons are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Boidae.

Pythons climb and swim expertly. It is often found in towns as well as in the forest.
They kill the birds and mammals on which they feed by squeezing them in their coils.
Unlike boas, pythons are egg layers. The female coils her body over the eggs for the six to eight week incubation period.
The reticulated, or royal, python, Python reticulatus, of SE Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines is one of the largest snakes in the world and may reach a length of 30 ft or more.

Rat snakes~ The rat snakes of the genus Elaphe include some forty or more species of harmless snakes in Europe, Asia, the Malaysian Archipelago, and North America south to Costa Rica. Not all of the species are explicitly called rat snakes; a wide variety of common names have been applied, including fox snake (Elaphe vulpina) and corn snake (Elaphe guttata). In addition to the genus Elaphe, there are several other genera, including Spilotes, Pryas, and Gonyosoma, that are commonly called 'rat snakes." In general, the care of these other "rat snakes" is similar to that of the genus Elaphe.

The head of the typical rat snake is rather long, with a squared-off snout, and the eye is moderately large with a round pupil. The body scales are smooth along the sides and smooth or faintly keeled along the back. In most species the outer edges of the belly scales are angled to form ridges running along the base of each flank. This is an aid to climbing, and they are generally excellent climbers. All species are egg layers. The general size range of adults in the various species is between 3 and 6', though a few species rarely reach 3' and some others often exceed 6'. They are moderately slender, but well muscled, and kill their prey by constriction.
Adult rat snakes feed primarily on small mammals and birds. They are also well known for eating bird eggs, although in captivity they often show no interest in hens' eggs, possibly because commercially processed eggs do not retain their natural odor. Juvenile specimens will eat warm-blooded prey if it is small enough and even the smallest hatchling can swallow a newborn pinky mouse. The juveniles in particular will also eat cold-blooded items, including other snakes, lizards, fish, frogs, and even insects.

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My Take On Snakes:snakes --created by Valarie Dannels, valarie_anne68@yahoo.com

last modified September 16, 2004

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