5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (2024)

4m read

by Nicole Villeneuve

Original photo by Ton Bangkeaw/ Shutterstock

5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (1)

Many people harbor a fear of snakes, often associating them with danger and deceit. But the truth is, these shy, slithery creatures are largely misunderstood. Like many other animals, snakes are not, by default, aggressive toward humans, and only a small number of the more than 3,000 global snake species are venomous. These enigmatic reptiles exhibit a remarkable array of other behaviors and adaptations, too. Here are a few intriguing facts about these fascinating creatures.

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5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (2)

Snakes Are “Solar-Powered”

Snakes are known as cold-blooded creatures, but that doesn’t mean their blood literally runs cold. What it actually means is they can’t generate their own body heat and instead rely on external sources — such as sunlight — to regulate their body temperatures. This ecothermic characteristic explains why they’re often seen basking in the sun to warm up or slithering under a rock to cool down. Snake species from colder climates survive the winter season through brumation —the reptilian version of mammalian hibernation — during which they may wake for water, but otherwise remain dormant.

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5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (3)

Slithering Is Just One of Several Ways Snakes Can Move

Slithering is perhaps the most recognizable form of movement associated with snakes. Known as lateral undulation, this S-shaped movement can carry them quickly across many diverse terrains. But snakes are capable of a wide range of locomotive techniques depending on their environment and circumstances. Other notable types of movement include sidewinding (a sideward slithering used primarily on sand), concertina (coiling up, then straightening), and rectilinear (using their bellies to move in a straight line). Some snakes, such as the paradise tree snakes found in Southeast Asia, even know how to fly, pushing themselves off tree branches and gliding at certain angles to their desired landing spots.

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5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (4)

Certain Snakes Have Heat Vision

Some snakes are able to detect the infrared waves that emanate from warm objects. This “heat vision” is primarily found in pit vipers, boas, and pythons, and is the result of not only their eyes, but also special pits located between their eyes and nostrils or along their lips, depending on the species. These facial heat sensors take in the infrared radiation and send those signals to the brain, which then pass the information on to the eyes and produce a thermal image. These thermal images are the reason snakes can so accurately locate prey even in complete darkness, which comes in handy since snakes are neither nocturnal nor diurnal, and thus can be active at any time of day.

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5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (7)

Snakes Live on Every Continent Except Antarctica

The thousands of serpentine species throughout the world live just about everywhere, from dense Amazonian rainforests to the arid deserts of Africa, and the tropical islands of southeast Asia to the temperate woods of North America. They’ve colonized a variety of habitats — in fact, live snakes can be found everywhere in the world except the continent of Antarctica. The glacial ice cover is simply too cold for the reptiles, which, as previously mentioned, rely on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature. There are also some relatively temperate regions that have no known snake populations, including Ireland, thanks in large part to the way it was separated from other landmasses at the end of the last ice age and the animals’ resulting inability to reach the island.

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5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (8)

Snakes Smell With Their Tongues, Not Their Nostrils

Although they do have nostrils, snakes primarily smell using their tongues, which explains why they’re constantly flicking the distinctive forked organ in and out of their mouths. The tongue itself has no olfactory receptors (nor does it have any taste buds). Instead, it gathers scent particles from the air and ground and brings them back into the snake’s mouth. Once inside, the particles go to the sensory organ on the roof of the mouth, known as the Jacobson’s organ. The particles are analyzed, and information about the chemical composition of the smells is sent to the brain, helping snakes identify prey, predators, and potential mates. The forked shape of the tongue can even help to determine the direction the scent came from.

5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (9)

Nicole Villeneuve

Writer

Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

5 Slithery Facts About Snakes (2024)

FAQs

5 Slithery Facts About Snakes? ›

A small snake may live 12 years, and a large one can live up to 40 years. They mate in spring. Some species lay eggs, while others have live birth. The only sure way to know if a snake is venomous is if it has grooved fangs and venom glands.

What are some interesting facts about snakes movement? ›

Snakes will push off of any bump or other surface, rocks, trees, etc., to get going. They move in a wavy motion. They would not be able to move over slick surfaces like glass at all. This movement is also known as lateral undulation.

What are 5 characteristics of a snake? ›

snake, Any member of about 19 reptile families (suborder Serpentes, order Squamata) that has no limbs, voice, external ears, or eyelids, only one functional lung, and a long, slender body. About 2,900 snake species are known to exist, most living in the tropics. Their skin is covered with scales.

What is a fun fact about snakes for kids? ›

THEY CAN SMELL WITH THEIR TONGUES.

A snake uses its tongue to help it smell. It flicks its long, forked tongue to pick up chemical molecules from the air, ground, or water. The tongue carries the smelly molecules back to two small openings in the roof of the snake's mouth where they're analyzed.

What is the biggest snake facts? ›

Green anacondas are the heaviest snakes in the world. The heaviest anaconda ever recorded was 227 kilograms. This massive snake was 8.43 metres long, with a girth of 1.11 metres. While the reticulated python is longer, it's also slender.

How long do all snakes live? ›

How Long Do Snakes Live? Snakes reach sexual maturity within two to four years, depending on the species and living conditions. In perfect conditions, adult snakes live anywhere from 20 to 30 years, with natural predators and the encroachment of humans severely limiting the number of years most snakes live.

How many snakes can swim? ›

John Maerz, Professor of Vertebrate Ecology at the University of Georgia, told Reuters that all snakes can swim, and most swim below the water, or partially submerged.

How fast do snakes move? ›

Why can snakes move so fast? ›

A snake's body is long and strong, comprising a flexible spine and hundreds of sharply curved rib bones (up to 400 in some species). Engaging the muscles attached to these rib bones allows snakes not only to slither, but to climb, swim and even fling themselves through the air.

What is a snake's weakness? ›

First and foremost, the cold. Temperatures lower than 60° impairs their ability to protect themselves. Very often it is standing their ground when having to deal w/ humans.

How many snakes give live birth? ›

The truth is that only 70% of snakes lay eggs 1 – the other 30% give live birth and develop their young internally in a couple of different ways. What are the different ways that snakes birth their young?

Can snakes see with their eyes? ›

Snakes have cones and rods in their eyes that enable them to see in two-dimensional color: blue and green. How well a snake can see depends on what species it is, where it lives in its natural habitat, and if it is on alert. For example, snakes that hunt during the day—like false water cobras—have great eyesight.

Do snakes have teeth? ›

Long teeth are present in snakes that need a good grip on their prey, such as soft‐bodied or bulky prey or snakes feeding underwater. Short teeth are associated with hard and/or long prey items that usually do not involve penetration of the prey.

How old do snakes live? ›

How Long Do Snakes Live? Snakes reach sexual maturity within two to four years, depending on the species and living conditions. In perfect conditions, adult snakes live anywhere from 20 to 30 years, with natural predators and the encroachment of humans severely limiting the number of years most snakes live.

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