Venomous snakes inject their prey with venom, while constrictors squeeze their prey. They do not need to hunt everyday. Anacondas and pythons can survive for up to a year without food after feeding. Snakes hunt mostly at night.
Snake Species
With more then 3,000 species of snakes in the world there is plenty to learn about them. Even though they all have many unique characteristics about them, there are quite a few similarities.
- Garter Snake
The Garter Snake is one of the most well known. They often have very bright colors that make them attractive.Many people mistakenly refer to these snakes as Garden Snakes, because the name sounds so similar to Garter Snake. Garter Snakes are very common, with a broad range covering most of the United States, especially the populated areas. The most easily defining feature is a stripe along the spine, for the entire length of the snake.
Are garter snakes venomous or dangerous? No. They are totally harmless. Like most snakes, they may defend themselves if threatened, and strike, but this will rarely result in any injury - maybe just a light scratch and bleeding from their tiny teeth. If in doubt, just leave the snake alone. But no, garter snakes are not poisonous.
- Reticulated Python
The Reticulated Python is large and very interesting to gaze at. They don’t have any venom and they are very seldom known to bite. However, they will wrap around a person though and suffocate them.The reticulated python is a species of python found in Southeast Asia. They are the world's longest snakes and longest reptiles, and among the three heaviest snakes. Like all pythons, they are nonvenomous constrictors and normally not considered dangerous to humans. However, cases of people killed (and in at least one case eaten) by reticulated pythons have been documented.
An excellent swimmer, P. reticulatus has been reported far out at sea and has colonized many small islands within its range. The specific name, reticulatus, is Latin meaning "net-like", or reticulated, and is a reference to the complex colour pattern
- Ball Python or Royal Python
The Ball Python or Royal Python is one that many people are fascinated by. This is a non venomous type of snake. It is quite timid in comparison to many other types of Pythons.Royal Pythons are also known as Ball Pythons due to them rolling into a ball in defence. This species of Python grows to an average length of 4 foot (1.2 m), with the females being the large of the two. Some specimens have been known to reach more than 5 foot (1.5m) in length.
Royal Pythons have a distinctive head, slender neck and a wide body. The body colour is black with yellow, gold or brown markings. The patterns may be banded, broken or reduced in some specimens and some may have a dorsal stripe.
- Burmese Python
One of the larger species of snakes in the world is the Burmese Python. It is ranked as the #6 largest of all snakes in the world.Burmese pythons, with their beautifully patterned skin, rapid growth rate, and generally docile disposition, may be best known as the large snake of choice among reptile owners. Unfortunately these potentially huge constrictors are often poorly cared for and are frequently released into the wild. Attacks on handlers, sometimes deadly, are not uncommon.
- Black Rat Snake
The adults can be up to 8 feet in length. This makes them the biggest of all snakes found in Canada. Like other species of snakes the colors of this one work to allow it to blend in well with the surroundings.Black Rat Snake Habitat & Range: - These snakes are mainly found in in the eastern United States and midwest; this includes parts of New England and, spanning west, includes its of Texas and Nebraska. As far as the rat snake species goes, the black rat snake is the most common. They have been known to be found in some northern parts of Oklahoma and, further, have been found in isolated patches within Canada. They like a variety of habitats, from meadow to forest.
- Eastern Coral Snake
The Eastern Coral Snake is also called the American Cobra. It is very dangerous snake due to the potency of the venom that it releases.There is little or no pain or swelling at the site of the bite, and other symptoms can be delayed for 12 hours. However, if untreated by antivenin, the neurotoxin begins to disrupt the connections between the brain and the muscles, causing slurred speech, double vision, and muscular paralysis, eventually ending in respiratory or cardiac failure.
- Boa Constrictor
The Boa Constrictor is a very large snake with a very thick body. However, it isn’t one of the biggest as the Python species all are larger that this is.
The boa constrictor (Boa constrictor), also called the red-tailed boa or the common boa, is a species of large, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family Boidae, found in tropical North, Central, and South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive. Ten subspecies are currently recognized, although some of these are controversial. This article focuses on the species Boa constrictor as a whole, and on the nominate subspecies
- King Cobra
The longest venomous snake in the world is the King Cobra. This is a snake that has many people worried because of the way they look and the size of them.
It seems unfairly menacing that a snake that can literally "stand up" and look a full-grown person in the eye would also be among the most venomous on the planet, but that describes the famous king cobra.
Menacing Traits
King cobras can reach 18 feet in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes. When confronted, they can raise up to one-third of their bodies straight off the ground and still move forward to attack. They will also flare out their iconic hoods and emit a bone-chilling hiss that sounds almost like a growling dog.
- Black Mamba
The Black Mamba is considered to be the longest of all snakes found around Africa. It is also considered to be one of the deadliest.
The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a venomous snake endemic to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Skin colour varies from grey to dark brown. Juvenile black mambas tend to be lighter in color than adults and darken with age. It is the longest species of venomous snake indigenous to the African continent; mature specimens generally exceed 2 meters (6.6 ft) and commonly attain 3 meters (9.8 ft). Specimens of 4.3 to 4.5 meters (14.1 to 14.8 ft) have been reported.
Although most mamba species are tree-dwelling snakes, the black mamba is not generally arboreal, preferring lairs in terrestrial habitats in a range of terrains. These include savannah, woodlands, rocky slopes and in some regions dense forest. It is diurnal and chiefly an ambush predator, known to prey on hyrax, bushbabies and other small mammals as well as birds. It is also a pursuit predator; in this it resembles some other long, speedy, highly-venomous species with well-developed vision. Over suitable surfaces it is possibly the speediest species of snake, capable of at least 11 km/h (6.8 mph) over short distances. Adult mambas have few natural predators.
In a threat display, the mamba usually opens its inky black mouth, spreads its narrow neck-flap and sometimes hisses. It is capable of striking at considerable range and occasionally may deliver a series of bites in rapid succession. Its venom is primarily composed of potent neurotoxins that may cause fast onset of symptoms. Despite its reputation for being formidable and highly aggressive, like most snakes, it usually attempts to flee from humans unless threatened or cornered. Not being proximal to humans, bites from the black mamba are not frequent
- Corn Snake
The Corn Snake is also called the Red Rat Snake. They are a constrictor type of snake which means that they wrap their bodies around what they want to eat or they think it is threat.
The corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) is a North American species of rat snake that subdues its small prey by constriction. It is found throughout the southeastern and central United States. Their docile nature, reluctance to bite, moderate adult size, attractive pattern, and comparatively simple care make them popular pet snakes. Though superficially resembling the venomous copperhead and often killed as a result of this mistaken identity, corn snakes are harmless and beneficial to humans. Corn snakes lack functional venom and help control populations of wild rodent pests that damage crops and spread disease.
The corn snake is named for the species' regular presence near grain stores, where it preys on mice and rats that eat harvested corn. The Oxford English Dictionary cites this usage as far back as 1675. Some sources maintain that the corn snake is so-named because the distinctive, nearly-checkered pattern of the snake's belly scales resembles the kernels of variegated corn. Regardless of the name's origin, the corn reference can be a useful mnemonic for identifying corn snakes.
- Rattlesnake
The Rattlesnake is one of the most common ones you will find out there. They do have a type of venom in them but it usually isn’t very powerful. There are 30 species though and many subspecies so what they will offer depends on what you come across.
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). The scientific name Crotalus is derived from the Greek, meaning "castanet". The name Sistrurus is the Latinized form of the Greek word for "tail rattler" (seistrouros) and shares its root with the ancient Egyptian musical instrument the sistrum, a type of rattle. The 36 known species of rattlesnakes have between 65 and 70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to central Argentina.
Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rodents.
Rattlesnakes receive their name from the rattle located at the end of their tails, which makes a loud rattling noise when vibrated that deters predators or serves as a warning to passers-by. However, rattlesnakes fall prey to hawks, weasels, king snakes and a variety of other species. Rattlesnakes are heavily preyed upon as neonates, while they are still weak and mentally immature. Large numbers of rattlesnakes are killed by humans. Rattlesnake populations in many areas are severely threatened by habitat destruction, poaching, and extermination campaigns.
Rattlesnakes are the leading contributor to snakebite injuries in North America. However, rattlesnakes rarely bite unless provoked or threatened; if treated promptly the bites are seldom fatal
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