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Snakes

9 Fascinating Snake Facts

1. Snakes Can Re-grow Their Teeth

Snakes have several rows of teeth, and each snake can vary with the amount they have. Snakes can re-grow teeth. Broken teeth often occur when eating their prey. So a snake needs to be able to re-grow them as and when required.

skeleton of a snake with rows of teeth
Skeleton of a snake with rows of teeth

2. Some Snakes Can Fly

Some snakes have the ability to kind of fly, it’s called gliding, and they are pros at it. They can push themselves off a tree branch and glide for more than 65 feet in length at any one time.

Snake in flight
Snake in flight

3. Snakes Don’t Use Their Eyes To See In The Dark

Thats right, snakes dont use their eyes to see in the dark. A Snake will use the organ pit located on either side of the head by the nostrils. It is capable of infrared heat-sensitive vision that detects body heat.

Close up of a snakes eyes
Bush Viper

4. Snakes Smell Using Their Tongues

A snake will use their forked tongue to collect the smell of molecules. It’s forked so they can get a 3D smell in all directions. A snake will know in which direction the prey is just be sticking out its tongue. The tongue is wired straight into Jacobson’s organ, which is attached to the brain. 

A Snake with its forked tongue out
Western Hognose Snake with Forked Tongue out

5. Some Snakes Still have Part Of Their Legs Left

The oldest snake species still have a part of history left on their bodies, such as the boas and the pythons. Left behind are called spurs. They look like claws on the underneath of a snake’s belly. This is because snakes, once upon a time, had legs. 

Albino Python Spurs close up
Albino Python Spurs

6. Snakes Have More Bones Than Us Humans

The whole length of the snake is laced with bones. Snakes can have up too 800 vertebrae and ribs bones altogether. They have the same amount from birth, and they get bigger with age. 

A Snake skeleton, showing many bones
A Snake skeleton

7. Snakes Sleep With Their Eyes Open

Because the snakes dont have any eyelids, they sleep with their eyes open. This is why it’s tough to tell if a snake is sleeping or if the snake is wide awake.

Green snake
Sleeping or wide awake?

8. Snakes That Have Fangs Are The Venomous Ones

Snakes with fangs mean that they are venomous, such as the vipers and the cobras. Fangs are positioned in the upper jaw and are ready to deploy poison using the fangs into their prey. 

Snake Fangs -close up view
Snake Fangs

9. A Jaw Of A Snake Is Not Locked

For snakes to swallow prey in one go as they do, they need to be able to stretch the jaw since they dont chew or have hands. The jaw of a snake is not attached by bone; a stretchy ligament attaches it. These ligaments can stretch to enormous lengths as and when needed.

Green snake mouth wide open
Attached by ligaments not bones

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By Teresa Mine

Teresa has studied canine behaviour and canine nutrition. She loves sharing her knowledge and educating through her articles. She loves binge-watching animal documentaries. Teresa has some pets; she adores two dogs, two cats, and one hamster.