Snake Facts

With the exception of Antarctica, snakes are everywhere on the globe in warm and temperate geographical areas. Snakes vary in size from a few centimeters to more than nine meters in the case of the anacondas or the pythons. Poisonous snakes are a minority in this huge reptile family, but their toxic poison is so powerful that it could cause the death of a human being within a few minutes. Chronological research indicates that, the history and origins of snakes go back to the Cretaceous period, some 150 million years ago, when snakes are assumed to have evolved from a lizard and changed their living environment.

Primitive distinctive marks of this ancestry are still present with some snakes, this is the case with pythons and boas that still carry vestiges of hind limbs, which only make us think of a past when snakes resembled lizards a lot more. Snakes or serpents making the subject of symbolic creations and being widely illustrated in the arts. Worshiped or hunted down as evil creatures, snakes surely have a fascination on human mind; yet, modern attitudes have changed towards snakes under the pressure of ecologist organization that insist on the importance of these creatures for the balance of ecosystems. And they couldn’t be more right.

There are many aspects in the life of snakes that fascinate scientists and indicate that there are more things to learn about the many existing species. Thus, it is interesting to study how the patterns on the body of snakes differentiate between individuals even within the same species. Then, snakes’ response to vibrations, the incredible sense of smell and even the perception of low frequency sounds indicate the fact that snakes are fascinating. The same amount of scientific respect is due in terms of anatomical programing by the presence of the infrared sensitive receptors that allow pit vipers for instance to detect the warmth of the prey’s body.

Snakes share their habitat with us, and people living in areas with a higher density of snake groups and sub-groups develop skills to distinguish between the dangerous or harmless varieties, and thus they reduce the risk of snakebites. Non-venomous snakes could also bite and injure one seriously when sensing danger, therefore, a healthy attitude towards such animals will save you a lot of trouble. Do not try to kill, catch or hunt snakes: they only feed and defend themselves as they cannot hold grudge and follow you just for the sake of biting. Be extremely cautious when keeping snakes as pets.