Superior Snakes. By: Jake Elliott Richards

Transcription

1 Superior Snakes By: Jake Elliott Richards

2 Table of Contents Amazing Snakes. 1 Home, Sweet, Home 2 Mmm Delicious Prey 3 See, Smell, Feel 4 Hard, Smooth, Scaly, Thick. 5 Bigger and Bigger.. 6 Glossary. 7

3 These are different kinds of Snakes. Amazing Snakes Did you know there are about twentynine hundred different species of snakes in the world? A snake has a giant scaly body and doesn t have legs. Many snakes behave in odd and unusual ways. Some snakes can climb trees and swim. Snakes are one of the most interesting creatures on earth. Not all snakes are Peculiar Names The whip snake is a common nickname for a variety of snakes! venomous, only a couple hundred are venomous. In some species, snake s venom can kill you in 20 minutes. In other species a snake s venom can kill you in 30 seconds. Snakes do not have eyelids, instead a clear scale covers each eye. Not one snake ever blinks. 1

4 This is a snake being active in a warm environment. Snakes can live in trees, oceans, underground, in jungles, deserts, and even your own backyard. As the weather gets colder, snakes go into hibernating. Because of this you re not likely to see a snake in the snow. Home, Sweet, Home Snakes need a warm environment to be active, because they are cold blooded which means they can t make their own body heat. To hunt they need to blend into their environment. Snakes really depend on their environment to stay alive. We need to protect the snakes environment so they can stay alive. Fun Fact Snakes can live anywhere in the world besides Antarctica and the North Pole! 2

5 Mmm Delicious Prey Any snake will eat another animal. To hunt, they will either lie very quietly, blend in, and be motionless until the prey they want comes close enough to strike or the snake slithers up on its prey and strikes. Not a single snake chews its meal. A snake swallows its meal whole. About any animal that is not too large can be a snake s meal. Snakes are strong for their size. In the United States there are about nine-fifteen deaths a year from snake bites. Some snakes, like boas, kill by Fun Fact The Cobra is the largest venomous snake in the world squeezing their prey. Other snakes, such as Vipers and Cobras, kill their prey with venom. Snakes that kill by squeezing their prey are called constrictors. Snakes that kill with venom have very sharp fangs, their fangs are bigger than the snakes who don t kill with venom. Snakes stick out their tongues to pick up the smell of their prey. This is a snake eating another animal. 3

6 See, Smell, Feel All snakes use senses such as touch to find their prey and to avoid danger. Their senses of sight, touch, and smell are stronger than human senses. Snakes only see shades of gray, they do not see Fun Fact Snakes can not hear! color. To smell, snakes use their noses which are two tiny holes on their face. Snakes can feel heat from other animals bodies, which helps them find their prey in the dark. Snakes depend on their senses to hunt and to stay alive. This is a snake smelling in the dark with its tongue and nose. 4

7 Hard, Smooth, Scaly, Thick Snakes are not slimy. Their skin is hard and smooth to allow them to glide easily over the ground. Snakes scales are thickened, hardened parts of the outer layers of their skin. Snakes Fun Fact This is a snake s skin close-up. sometimes have patterns on their scales to scare off predators. When a snake stretches, you can see how the scales are really bumps on the snakes skin. Snakes shed can be 20 feet long! A snake gets bigger and bigger every year. After a while its skin gets to small and the snake has to shed its skin. To shed, the snake rubs itself on a tree or 5

8 rock until its skin gets loose. Then it wiggles out of its old skin. A snake s skin is very important to its survival. Bigger and Bigger Some snakes grow their entire lives, which means that they will get bigger than the snakes that don t grow their entire lives. The rate of a snake s growth depends on the available food, the climate, and the individual snake. An old snake grows, but if it grows it will only grow a little. Snakes depend on their size to live because a small snake that doesn t grow its entire life will be able to fit in to small gaps to avoid danger and a Fun Fact The Bull Snake is one of the biggest snakes in America! snake that does grow its entire life will be able to fight off dangerous predators. These are baby snakes hatching out of their eggs. 6

9 Glossary depend- to rely on environment- the surroundings in which person, animal or plant lives in hibernate- to spend the winter in a state like sleep or in an inactive condition prey- an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food shed- cast off; to let drop or fall species- group of related organisms that have certain permanent characteristics in common and are able to interbreed climate- the kind of weather a place has 7

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