Snakes

by Mark, Bryan, Alex, and Jared

Some snakes are deadly. The python is not deadly, but it can kill huge things. It can kill an alligator. They are found mainly in Africa and South East Asia. Pythons, boas, and anacondas are related. They are the largest snakes in the world. They are not poisonous but kill by constriction. This means they squeeze their prey to death.

Some species can kill people, but not very many can. Some snakes have very few predators. Some have only just one.

Cottonmouths have a triangular shaped head. They are really poisonous. They really hurt when they bite. They are really dangerous. They can be found from southern Virginia to Missouri and in all southeastern United States. They live in ponds, swamps, and near rivers. They make their burrows in muddy ground near the rivers. They may also take over another animal's den like a muskrat's den.

Boas are big and strong. Boas can kill deer and other big animals such as crocodiles. They choke their prey to kill it. Then they swallow their prey because they can open their mouths wide.

Pythons kill their prey by choking it. They aren't poisonous but they can kill big things like crocodiles. They also eat parrots. They are really strong.

Most snakes can lay up to 12 eggs. But some have 100 eggs! The babies are really skinny. They are like chickens because they hatch out of the egg by themselves using a special egg tooth.

The king cobra can kill a person. They have deadly venom. From the moment it is born the cobra can kill. A cobra can kill over 15,000 people a year. One teaspoon of its venom can kill up to 164 people even when the venom is dry. The same amount of venom can kill 13,000 mice. One cobra can kill over 15,000 people a year. The cobra is found in the Philippines, Malaysia, Southern China, Burma, India, Thailand, and the Malay Peninsula. They can also be found in Africa. Cobras can reach 18 feet in length.

The king cobra is the longest venomous snake. It eats primarily other snakes. The cobra is one of the only snakes that can slither on the ground with its head up. Some cobras eat small things like rats and others eat huge things.

The spitting cobra can. The spitting cobra spits its venom, sometimes as far as six feet, at its prey's face. Then the venom gets into the brain of the prey and kills it.

The King Snake would eat a rattlesnake for a tasty snack! It can eat a whole elephant!

Copperheads have hollow fangs. Their bite hurts a lot. Their bite may kill small children. They like to eat mammals like rats. Copperheads got their name because of their copper colored head. The tip of their tails is green or yellow. Copperheads live in Tasmania and Southern Australia. Some are found in Asia. In the United States they are found from Massachusetts to Northern Florida, West to Illinois, and south to Texas and Northern Mexico.

A viper's bite is very serious. Vipers have strong venom. It often puffs itself up when its scared so that it looks like an iguana.

Most pit vipers inhabit the western hemisphere. A few are native to Asia.

The bush master is the only American pit viper that lays eggs. Most other species have their babies alive. Then it looks a lot bigger so its prey thinks it wont be able to swallow it. The viper's predators are eagles and hawks and sometimes other snakes.

Fun (?) Facts?

• Rattlesnakes can swim pretty well. The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake can have 10 to 15 babies during the late summer and early fall.
• Snakes prey on frogs, insects,worms, and mice.
• The world's smallest snake is a Thread Snake. It can squeeze through a crack as small as an eighth of an inch.
• The heaviest snake in the world is the anaconda. It can weight up to 400 pounds. That's as much as three adults.
• If a green snake smells a frog it will stay still until the right time, then it lunges at the frog at about 30 miles per hour.
• Snakes can move very fast. They go in a wiggly line. Know how they do it? They hit against rocks and other hard objects. They can move as fast as a person can walk for about 5 minutes.
• A python has good camouflage. An anaconda does too. They live in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. They can reach up to 33 feet in length. They feed on small mammals. Some species can kill small pigs and goats. The female lays 15 - 100 eggs. Pythons are sometimes found near or in water. About 20 - 25 species of pythons exist.
• A snake is very slow but they can strike their prey really fast. So don't be so sure snakes are the slowest and dumbest things in the world because they aren't. They are the coolest in the world.
• Copperheads have hollow fangs. Their bite hurts a lot, but it won't kill most people.
• When dinosaurs lived snakes lived too. They where much bigger back then .
• A cobra can kill over 15,000 people a year.
• Snakes have small eyes but some have big eyes.
• An anaconda reaches in length over 24 feet long. Anaconda's are among the longest and most powerful snakes in the world. The common and the conda is the longest snake in the western hemisphere and the heaviest snake in the world; A large adult may be 6 meters long and weigh 107 kg. They live in northern and Amazonian South America east of the Andes. The yellow anaconda is much smaller usually not exceeding 3 to 4 meters and lives in the river system of Southern South America. Female anacondas give birth to living young.
• The worlds smallest snake is the thread snake. It can squeeze throw a crack as big as an eighth of an inch fat.
• Vipers eat mammals like lizards and rats and mice A vipers bite is very serious. Vipers have strong venom. A viper sometimes blows itself up if it's scared. So it will look like it is a lot, lot bigger so it eaten by the predator that's trying to eat it.
• Vipers are very poisonous. The king snake would eat a rattle snake for a little snack. The longest snake is the world is 40 feet long. -
• Rattlesnakes can swim pretty well in water.
• Coral snakes are pretty dangerous. I can tell by the color on their back-- because red/ yellow dead fellow--red/ black ok Jack. That's how you can tell if it's deadly so you won't go and pick it up and play with it.
• The green snake is pretty. When a green snake smells a frog it will stay still until the right time, then it lunges at the frog about 30 miles per hour . The spitting cobra spits venom in to its attackers eyes and the venom will blind the animal that is trying to eat eat small animals like rats, mice, lizards and frogs. Cobras can grow up to ten ft.
• The vipers predators are eagles and hawks and sometimes other snakes will attack vipers. But that doesn't mean the viper is not poisonous.
• Snakes eat frogs too.
• The death adder is in the cobra family found in Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands. Death adders are one of the most poisonous snakes. The death adder is about 60 centimeters,or about 24 inches long. A death adder's color may be gray, brown , pink, or reddish with darker crossbands. It all depends on where they live.
• The bullsnake is yellowish to pale brown with dark blotches. They can measure from 1.5 to 2.4 meters (five to eight feet long). Bullsnakes are found in the plains and prairie areas of the United States where they eat on rodents that kill crops. This snake is a powerful constrictor. It vibrates its tail quickly when it is angry
• Grass snake - is the common name for the common water snake of Europe. They grow as long as 120 centimeters (as long as 40 inches) and sometimes up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) and have rough ridges on their scales. There are many different kinds. The kinds you see the most is the ringed neck snake. Its called that because it has a wide yellowish ring around its neck. This snake is greenish olive with black spots on its back. An American green snake and striped garter snakes are also called grass snakes. Grass snakes are different from North American water snakes because they lay eggs instead of having their babies alive.
• Milk snakes, are related to the king snake. They are called milk snakes because they are usually found near barns throughout the Eastern United Snakes. People used to think they stole milk from cows. They were wrong. They actually eat small snakes and rodents. They squeeze their prey to death.
• In the United States, milk snakes usually do not grow longer than about one meter (about three feet) but some in South America may grow to be 2 meters (about 6.6 feet) . Most milk snakes have bright bands of red, black and yellow. Sometimes people think they are the venomous coral snakes. They can go under a rock.

(Some of this information was taken from First Connections Encyclopedia.)

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