Snakes By Billy

Snakes are carnivorous reptiles. They are predators which means they prey on other animals. These rough creatures are ectothermic which means their body temperature is the same as their environment. If the temperature is too cold then the snake dies.


These elegant, legless animals have scaly skin. Some snakes have a gland in their head which produces venom. Once the fangs are stabbed into their prey the poison is injected into the animal's body. The snake with the longest fangs is the Gabon Viper,
which has fangs up to 12cm. They can grow up to 12 metres long. Snakes have over 500 backbones. We have 206 bones in our whole body! Some snakes have red and yellow scales, this is a warning the snake is poisonous. Most snakes have dull skin colours like black, grey and brown. Rattlesnakes have a rattle on the end of their tail, which makes a sound, warning their predators to stay away.
Sea snakes have flattened tails to help them paddle through the sea. Blind snakes do not have eyes at all, so they rely on their other senses to find their way around.
Snakes blend in well with different things depending on the snakes scale colour.
A snake's nostrils are far apart from each other. Snakes have an avocado shaped head.


Many islands including Iceland, Ireland and New Zealand do not have any snakes at all. These reptiles do not live near the North and South Poles because it is far too cold for them to live there. Most sea snakes live in the Indian ocean.


Snakes prey on deer, crocodiles and even people. Big snakes like boas and pythons constrict and squeeze their prey to death. Once the food is dead the snake starts to uncoil slightly, then begins to swallow the prey head first in one whole gulp.
Some snakes glide up to 100m from tree to tree.

By Billy A2