Corn Snake

We just learned about the Blue Krait snake.

Another type of snake is the Corn Snake.

Corn snakes do not have venom and do not attack humans.
They help people a lot because they eat rats and mice that eat corn and grains.
Sometimes they live by where grains are stored and eat the rodents that would come and destroy the farmer's harvest, or spread disease to humans.


(from: wikipedia - corn snake)


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Blue Krait

We just learned about Coral Snake.

Another type of snake is the Blue Krait also known as the Bungarus candidus, or Malayan krait.

This is a venomous snake that lives in southeast Asia.
It has blueish-black stripes on its head and all along its body, and a white belly.

It is the 3rd most venomous snake in the world, and a bite from this snake can kill a human so they are very dangerous.
This snake is shy and usually won't go out to bite a human unless someone tries to pick it up or steps on it.


(from: wikipedia - bungarus candidus)


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Coral Snake

We just learned about the Blunthead Tree Snake.

Another type of snake is the Coral Snake.

This snake has stripes of red, yellow, white and black.

It is a very venomous snake, and it's venom can be deadly to humans if they are not taken to a hospital quickly.
Coral snakes are afraid of humans and will usually try to get away if they are seen, but sometimes if they are threatened they will bite.
Their fangs are not very long, so they can not bite through thick leather like gloves or shoes.

Other snakes like milk snakes have colors just like the coral snake, but not in the same order.
Some people have come up with ways to remember which ones are venomous, like:
Red and black, friend of Jack. Red and yellow, kills a fellow.
Yellow, Red, Stop!

Coral snakes mostly live on the ground underneath leaves, and they eat snakes, lizards, frogs, birds and rodents.

(from: wikipedia - coral snake)


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Blunthead Tree Snake

We just learned about the southern hognose snake.

Another type of snake is the blunthead tree snake.

This type of snake is very long and skinny with a big head.
It's usually about three feet long, and brown with white stripes.

These snakes have really big eyes, and their pupils are vertical, up and down.
Most snakes use their smell and feelings to find food, but these snakes can see very well with their big eyes.


(from: wikipedia - imantodes cenchoa)


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Southern hognose snake

We just learned about the type of snake the Green Vine Snake.

Another type of snake is the Southern Hog-Nosed Snake.

This type of snake lives in the southeastern US.
They eat mostly toads and are not dangerous to humans.

These snakes won't bite people, but when they are scared they will try to pretend like they are dangerous, puffing up their body, hissing, and even pretending to strike.
If that doesn't work they will play dead like a possum!
They roll over onto their back and hang their tongue out of their mouth.
Sometimes even if they are picked up, and rolled over, they'll roll their head back, trying to prove that they really are dead.



(from: wikipedia - southern hognose snake)


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Green Vine Snake

We just learned about the striped house snake.

Another type of snake is called the green vine snake, or the Ahaetulla nasuta.

It is a skinny green tree snake that lives in Asia.

This snake has venom but it's bite will only make your skin swell up for a few days, like a bee sting.
It mostly just eats frogs and lizards.


(from: wikipedia - ahaetulla nasuta)

When it gets scared it puffs up it's body and you can see a black and white skin underneath it's scales.

(from: wikipedia - ahaetulla nasuta)

There was a legend long ago that if one of these snakes looked at you, it's eyes would make you blind.


(from: wikipedia - ahaetulla nasuta)

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Striped House Snake

We just learned about the type of snake the Massasauga.

Another type of snake is the striped house snake, also known as boaedon lineatus.

This snake is found in Africa, and is found inside or near houses a lot where it eats up mice and rats that carry diseases and destroy food.
These snakes are not poisonous, so they are not harmful to humans and can be very helpful.
Lots of people keep these snakes as pets.

The word lineatus in the snakes name comes from the white line that goes down the snakes body.
They come in different colors too, black, red-brown or green.


(from: wikipedia - boaedon lineatus)


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Massasauga

We just learned about the Schnauzer and a whole lot of other types of dogs!

Now let's learn about snakes!
They can be scary and look slimy, but snakes are very important in nature, just like spiders, sharks, alligators and other scary animals.
Snakes help by eating things like mice and rats that carry diseases and eat crops.
They are also food for other larger animals like hawks and eagles!

One type of snake is the Massasauga, which is a venomous rattle snake.

These snakes can grow to be about 2 feet long, and they are grey with dark brown or black spots on their body.

They are venomous, which means their teeth let out venom to kill their prey when they bite.
Even though the venom can hurt humans, it won't kill them as long as they go to the doctor after getting bitten.

These snakes are shy and try to stay away from humans.
They would only bite a human if they were stepped on or if someone tried to pick them up.

Mostly these snakes eat mice, rats, lizards, frogs, centipedes and even smaller snakes.
Since they do not have arms to hold their prey or big teeth to chew it up, they have to bite something like a lizard, wait for it to stop moving, and then swallow it whole!


(from: wikipedia - massasauga)

The rattle on the snake's tail is made up of a bunch of little hollow hard pieces of keratin that are hooked together. When the rattle snake is feeling threatened it will shake it's tail to make a rattling sound to warn people to stay away.
Every time that the rattle snake sheds it's skin, it grows another piece for it's rattle.


(from: wikipedia - rattlesnake)


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