With their smooth slithering and silent staring, snakes can seem scary. I’m not exactly ready to meet one in the wild, but their unique characteristics are fascinating to explore from a safe distance! Here are 10 secrets of these reptilian wonders.
#1: A snake skeleton has 600 - 1,800 bones. All snakes have 10 bones in their skull and jaw, but longer species have more vertebrae and ribs. But even the shortest snakes have many more bones than humans - an adult human skeleton has only 207 bones!
#2: Snakes smell with their tongues! They flick their tongues out to collect scent particles, then bring them back to their mouths for analysis by their Jacobson’s organ.
#3: Snakes don’t have ears. Instead of hearing, they can sense vibrations through their jawbones. By placing their heads on the ground, they can detect movements around them.
#3: Snakes never blink because they don’t have eyelids! Instead, each eye is covered by brille, a transparent scale. This means that technically, their eyes are always closed.
#5: Some snakes have over 200 teeth, but they aren’t used for chewing. They point backward, towards the snake’s throat, to prevent prey from escaping their mouths.
#6: Snakes can disconnect their jaws to swallow prey larger than their heads. They can stretch the two pieces of their lower jaw apart to engulf animals whole!
#7: Snakes typically eat less than 30 meals per year, or roughly one meal every 12 days. Some snakes eat as little as 6 meals in a year, which would be one dinner every two months!
#8: Every time they shed their skin, rattlesnakes add a new segment to their rattle. Rattlesnakes shed their skin two to three times a year and can live for up to 20 years, but rattles usually have 13 or fewer segments. This suggests rattlesnakes lose some of their segments over time.
#9: Some snakes can fly! Five different Southeast Asian snakes “fly” by launching themselves off of tree branches, undulating in midair to keep themselves from getting hurled end over end. They can travel over 70 feet from a 3-story perch!
#10: Hours after death, decapitated snake heads can still bite! These bites are incredibly dangerous because they contain much more venom than a living snake would expel in one bite.
They might be a little spooky, but most snakes are more delightful than dangerous. They’re definitely one of the most unique animals on Earth! If you could mimic a snake characteristic, what would be your slithery superpower? Click the blue button below to vote! 👓