The variety of snake snakes is simply amazing! They are found almost everywhere. These are terrestrial and burrowing, arboreal and aquatic, nocturnal and diurnal, poisonous and not very poisonous, as well as oviparous and viviparous species. These are both large (up to 4 meters long) and small (up to 15 centimeters) snakes. I wonder what snakes eat with such a variety of their species?
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Very many of them "specialize" in a particular food. For example, egg snakes (egg-eaters) feed on bird eggs, swallowing them whole. When an egg enters the esophagus, the snake snake begins to bend sharply, which allows the processes of its vertebrae to crush the eggshell. All the liquid contained in the egg enters the stomach, and the remnants of the shell are regurgitated by the snake through the mouth. What snakes eat, for example, fish-eating species, probably does not need to be explained. There are individuals that eat only frogs or only earthworms.
What snakes eat has no effect on their poisonous abilities. The fact is that in itself it is absolutely safe, and in general, snake snakes are considered non-venomous. However, as they say, exceptions prove the rule. There are species whose bitecan be fatal to humans. But still, the vast majority of snake snakes that produce poison either do not have developed poisonous teeth, or something similar to such a tooth is located deep in the mouth, which makes it difficult to introduce their poison into the human body.
Where and how do snakes live
There are almost 30 species in our country. Of these, the most common is, of course, an ordinary one. This snake is common not only in Russia, but also in almost all of Europe, North Africa and Asia. She chooses wet places: lakes, ponds, grass swamps, and sometimes mountains and open steppes. Common snakes are active during daylight hours, but at night they hide in shelters. The hunting time of these snakes is morning and evening. They mate in late April - May, and in July the female lays up to 30 eggs. Newly hatched serpents are already 15 centimeters long and immediately start living on their own.
Above we talked about what different types of snakes eat. A specific common already eats medium-sized frogs, lizards, small birds and their chicks, as well as small mammals (mice, voles).
His fellow - water already - lives only in the south of our country, because it is very thermophilic. Its external difference from the ordinary snake is ribbed scales and the absence of yellow spots along the edges of the head. This snake is brown, greenish or gray in color with spots scattered on the back and sides. The eyes of the water snake, as well as its nostrils, are directed upwards. As the name implies, these snakes live in water bodies, both fresh and s alty.water. They are excellent divers. They feed mainly on various medium-sized fish.
Man is the main enemy of the snake. A lot of these snakes die at the hands of people. This is because we do not know how to distinguish poisonous snakes (for example, a viper) from safe ones, which include snakes, as a result of which we act for sure - we kill harmless representatives. Remember that snakes in the house are not at all dangerous. Bright orange spots located on the back of the head, as well as rather large shields and a graceful body, noticeably distinguish the snake from the massive viper. There are no such spots on the viper's head, but it is covered with small scales.
