Snakes: Characteristics, Behavior, Habitat

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snakes
By KV
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Characteristics

• Snakes are carnivores (meat eaters).
• Snakes dont have eyelids.
• There are around 3000 different species of snake.

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Characteristics

• Snakes are covered in scales.
• Snakes cant bite food so have to swallow it
  whole.
• Snakes can have 300 or more bones, depending on
  size and species.
• Snakes have only a few types of bones
• skull, jawbone, vertebrae, and ribs.

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Behavior Habitat

• Snakes are found throughout the world except
• Antarctica, Iceland, Ireland, Greenland and New
  Zealand.
• Most snakes are found in tropical regions.
• Snakes are found in many habitats including in
  the water, forests, deserts and prairies.
• Most snake species lay eggs, but some species
  give birth to live young.
• With the exception of some python species, eggs
  and young are not cared for by the male or female.

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Behavior Habitat

• Snakes use their forked tongue to smell the air.
• Snakes are ectotherms meaning
• must regulate their body temperature externally
  by sunning themselves or retreating to cool,
  shaded areas.
• Snakes hibernate during the winter.
• Snakes must shed their skin three to six times
  per year.

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Diet / hunting

• Termites, rodents, birds, frogs, small deer and
  other reptiles.
• Snakes eat their prey whole and are able to
  consume prey three times larger than the diameter
  of their head.
• The jaws of the snakes are not fused together.
  Their lower jaw can separate from the upper jaw.

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Diet / hunting

• To keep prey from escaping, snakes have
  rear-facing teeth that hold their prey in their
  mouths.
• Venomous snakes inject their prey with venom
• Constrictors squeeze their prey.
• Snakes dont hunt everyday.
• Anacondas and pythons can survive for up to a
  year without food after feeding.
• Snakes hunt mostly at night.

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size

• Anacondas are large, non-venomous snakes found in
  South America that can reach over 16 ft in
  length.
• Pythons can grow over 28 ft in length and are
  considered the longest snakes in the world.

Python
Anaconda