The word snake is pretty frightening… right? It is a phobia that is common which is okay considering the damage it can do to you, some snakes are poisonous and can kill you, fearing them is very much understandable. However, snakes are also amazing animals with amazing abilities. For example did you know that there are snakes that can fly, how about this…some snakes scares away their predators by farting, well, now you know. There are more incredible facts about snakes that you probably do not know about. Below are some amazing facts about snakes.
- There are more than 3000 species of snakes in the world, snakes live everywhere in the world except Antarctica.
- Snakes eat meat (carnivorous).
- Snakes are reptiles, they are cold blooded, their body temperature changes according to their environment.
- While eating big prey of about 75-100% bigger than them, snakes opens their mouth up to 150 degrees. Some are even known to explode after eating bigger preys than them.
- There are about 600 species which are poisonous and out of 600 venomous snakes only 200 are a threat to human kind.
- There are snakes which have two head, they are many cases of this…sometimes you find that the heads even find for food, despite having the same body.
- Mostly snakes can live in any environment, from mountains, deserts, lakes and even jungles.
- Snakes have scales.
- The black mamba is known to be the fastest snake in the world, they can move up to 12mph
- Snakes are known to have slow metabolism rate, with this it is not necessary for them to eat oftenly, Cobra can live up to months without eating.
- Anacondas are known to suffocate their prey by squeezing it till it dies.
- Many people fear snakes, well, guess what? The number of people that are killed by bees are more than those killed by snakes in a year.
- Brahminy blind snakes are the smallest snakes which are commonly mistaken as earthworms, they can be as short as 2 ½ inches long.
- There are snakes which hiss when they are threatened while the rattle snakes when threatened they to have a loud rattle on the end of their tail.
- Snakes body are warm, it can digest its prey quickly, it takes 3-5 days to digest its food. Anaconda can take weeks to digest food.
- Snakes tend to make themselves dirty and smelly by pooping every time and anywhere so that the predators can run away.
- Well, imagine this, if you were to turn into a snake today, you will be 4times bigger than you are now and only a few inches thicker, some snakes can have 400 ribs while a man has 24 ribs.
- Animals like Mongoose are immune to snake venom.
- Snakes smell using their tongue.
- Some of the snakes have more than 200 teeth, this teeth are used not for chewing but they point towards the back to stop the prey from running away.
- Snakes have been in existence for about 60 million years.
- Depending with the kind of the snake, snakes can live from 4 years to over 25 years.
- They are only 70% of snakes that lay eggs, the other 30% give birth to live young.
- Unlike mammals, snakes do not take care of their young ones but they are a few species that protect their eggs and new babies for some time after they have hatched. Cobras are known to build nest for their eggs.
- In Brazil, they are is an island that has a highest occurrence of snakes in the whole world.
- When Sonoran coral snake is threatened or frightened it hides it’s head under the body and curls it’s tail.
- The head of a dead snake can bite even hours after death, such bites contain more poison.
- Snakes do not have eyelids.
- Some snakes can go without for food for 2 years, study shows that snakes can digest their own hearts when they are starved for so long.
- The growing rate of a snake slows down as it gets older though it never stops to grow
- Most of the snakes are harmless to human kind so they help them in keeping control over rats, mice and birds.
- Thread snake is the shortest snake, it is about 4 inches long, it lives in island of Caribbean.
- Some poisonous snakes die while mistakenly biting themselves.
- You can know the number of young ones a snake can have by simply checking the amount of food they eat.
- Snakes have no chin.
- Snakes which are poisonous have pupils which are shaped like diamond, snakes which are not poisonous have round pupils.
- Snakes shed skin several times in a year, a process that lasts a few days. This symbolizes rebirth, transformation and healing.
- Snakes have got internal ears but do not have external years
- Snake skin is very smooth and it is dry.
- Some kind of snakes like cobra and black mamba use poison to kill their prey.
- Some snakes fly, a few kind in the jungle of south and southeast of Asia are known of flying.
- In different communities, snakes had various meaning throughout the history. For example, the romans viewed the snake as a symbol of eternal love while the Egyptians viewed it as representing royalty and deity. In Jewish and Hinduism they viewed it as a sexual passion and desire.
- In some Asians counties it is known that drinking cobra’s blood will increase sexual virility, the blood is mixed with liquor.
- Some cultures are known to eat snake, for example in Cantonese, they have been drinking snake soup for over 2,000 years.
- Many cultures traditionally believe snakes bring about the best of luck. In Japan, snakes are viewed as wealth and money. It is also known if you kill a white snake, it brings about life-long luck. In some parts of China it is believed that if you see a snake enter your house, it is a sign that you will experience long life and a peaceful life.
Summing up
Next time you see a snake, don’t be too scared but I’d advise to watch it from a far without making any noise…look at it as an amazing and incredible creature. You might be look at the key to giving you a peaceful and long lasting life.
