Are non-venomous snakes harmless?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Snakes (in Latin Serpentes) belong to the suborder of reptiles of the scaly order. Their habitat is quite extensive: they live on almost all continents (with the exception of Antarctica and a number of large islands, such as Ireland, Greenland, New Zealand, M alta, some islands of Oceania), in all climatic zones and environmental conditions (forests, steppes, deserts)., foothills, mountains). But still they prefer to settle in places with a hotter climate. Snakes are usually terrestrial, but some may live in water, in trees, or underground.

Of the variety of these reptiles, numbering more than two thousand species, most are non-venomous snakes. The list of poisonous ones does not exceed three hundred.

By nature, snakes are predators. The basis of their diet is made up of a wide variety of animal species, both vertebrates and invertebrates. However, there are snakes that specialize in eating a certain type of prey (the so-called stenophages). Unlike venomous snakes that kill their prey with venom, non-venomous snakes can swallow it alive or strangle it first. All snakes eat their prey.entirely due to the specific structure of the lower jaw, consisting of the right and left halves, making alternating movements with them and, as it were, pulling itself onto the prey.

The main types of non-venomous snakes living in Russia

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  Already. Everyone probably knows about this species, since it is the most common non-venomous snake in our country. They can be found in the forest, and in the meadow, and along the road.

  Usually, snakes do not exceed one meter in length, although there are individual specimens that reach two meters.

  Usually, these non-poisonous snakes live in humid places - near water bodies, in thickets of coastal reeds, in swamps, etc. It swims and dives very well, covering long distances in water. and land animals (lizards, chicks, small mammals).

• Slider Distributed in the southern regions (Caucasus, Central Asia, south of the Far East). These non-venomous snakes, exceeding two meters in length, can move quite quickly (up to 6 km/h), and not only on the ground or on stones, but also in trees where birds are hunted.

  Also, snakes actively exterminate rats and mice. The bite of a snake for a person is not dangerous, although it is painful. When bitten, all the signs of a venomous snake bite (swelling, pain, dizziness) appear, which usually disappear after three days.

• Common copperhead. This smooth little snake (usually not exceeding 0.7 m in length) has a grayish or brown coloration, sometimes with a reddishshade. Sometimes confused with a viper, however, it has a narrower head, covered with large - compared to the viper - shields and a less noticeable transition to the neck. Being a rather slow creature, the copperhead usually hunts animals from a hiding place. The verdigris bite is poisonous to some cold-blooded animals, but is completely harmless to humans.

Non-poisonous snakes are often kept by people as pets. Well, as they say, there are no comrades for the taste and color. However, it must be remembered that caring for these reptiles is no less difficult than for other types of animals. The snake needs to create conditions that are as close as possible to its habitat in its natural environment - and this is not only the creation of an external environment (branches, sand, stones, etc.), but also maintaining a special temperature and humidity, not to mention feeding. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the fact that even the bite of a non-venomous snake may contain a small amount of poison, and therefore certain safety measures should be observed when handling them.

Treatment for non-poisonous snake bites

If you are bitten by a snake, you must wash the bite with water or an alcohol-containing liquid, and then treat it with iodine or brilliant green. It should be remembered that even non-poisonous snakes may have the smallest food debris on their teeth, and in addition, the teeth themselves may remain in the wound. All this can lead to the entry of pathogenic microbes into the body. Therefore, in the event of the formation of pustules, tumors or otherinflammatory processes, you must definitely seek help from a medical institution.