Simply Snakes

1. Simply Snakes Jill Frank February 2007 North Mississippi GK-8 NSF North Mississippi GK-8

2. Snakes are Reptiles! Snakes are Vertebrates • Vertebrates are animals with backbones. Your backbone is the bumpy bone that runs along your back. • There are several vertebrate classes • Fish • Amphibian • Reptile • Bird • Mammal • Which class do snakes belong to? NSF North Mississippi GK-8

3. Why are snakes reptiles? • Snakes breathe air. • Snakes are ectothermic (cold-blooded)-their body temperature depends on the environmental temperature. • The body of a snake is covered in scales. • Many snakes lay eggs. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

4. Are snakes slimy? • Snakes are not slimy. • Their body is covered in shiny scales that make them look wet. • They have modified scales on their belly that aid in movement. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

5. Why do snakes shed their skin? • The scales that cover the snake’s body do not grow with the snake. • In order to grow, the snake needs to get rid of the old, small skin, and develop new skin. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

6. A Snake Shedding its Skin Rubber Boa NSF North Mississippi GK-8

7. Do snakes lay eggs? • Yes, some snakes do lay eggs. • The eggs are soft shelled. • Sometimes snakes can have twins where two babies are in one egg. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

8. Can snakes hear? • Snakes do not have ears, so they cannot hear. • However, snakes can feel vibrations on the ground that accompany many sounds. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

9. Why do snakes stick out their tongue? • Snakes have nostrils which they use to smell. • Snakes can also stick out their tongue in order to help them smell. • Snakes catch smells on their forked tongue which they bring into their mouth where there are openings to a special smelling organ. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

10. How do snakes catch their food? • Some snakes grab their prey and immediately try to swallow it. Their backwards pointing teeth help keep the prey in their mouth. • The snake will swallow its prey whole. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

11. How do snakes catch their food? • Some snakes grab their prey, coil around it, and squeeze it until it dies. • Then, the snake will swallow it whole. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

12. How do snakes catch their food? • Some snakes have special teeth, called fangs, through which they inject venom into their prey when they bite it. • Then, the snake swallows the prey whole. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

13. How do snakes move? • Undulation-body moves from side to side. • Concertina-tail grasps the ground and the head is extended, then the head grabs the ground and pulls the tail. • Rectilinear-body is straight and inches like a caterpillar. • Sidewinding-snake moves very quickly and in a sideways direction. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

14. What is the smallest snake? • Blind Thread Snake • Lives in the Caribbean. • Could slither through the center of a pencil if the lead were removed. • Grows to less than 10 cm in length. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

15. What is the longest snake? • Reticulated Python • This snake lives on the continent of South America. • Can grow to lengths of 33 feet. • Although the longest, the python is not the largest. The green anaconda can be twice the weight of a similar length python. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

16. Snake Adaptation-Camouflage NSF North Mississippi GK-8

17. Snake Adaptation-Camouflage NSF North Mississippi GK-8

18. This is the snake’s head. Can you see it now? Snake Adaptation-Camouflage NSF North Mississippi GK-8

19. Which habitat would be best for each snake? NSF North Mississippi GK-8

20. Snakes Common to Mississippi NSF North Mississippi GK-8

21. Common Garter Snake • Lives in marshes, meadows, woodlands, and hillsides. • Has dark colored body with three light colored stripes. • Can grow to lengths of 137 centimeters. • Can live up to 2 years. • Eats earthworms, snails, insects, small fish. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

22. Southern Hognose Snake • Lives in sandy or pine woods. • Has a yellow to light brown body with red specks. • Can grow to lengths of 56 centimeters. • Can flatten their heads and hiss. • Eats toads and lizards. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

23. Green Water Snake • Lives along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. • Has a greenish or brownish body, with no real distinctive markings other than dark speckling. • Can grow to lengths of 50 inches. • Eats fishes, frogs, and tadpoles. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

24. Corn Snake • Lives in wooded groves, rocky hillsides, meadowlands, and abandoned buildings. • Has an orange or brownish-yellow body, with large, black-edged red blotches down the middle of the back. • Can grow to lengths of 182 centimeters. • Eats mice, rats, birds, and bats. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

25. Copperhead • Lives in wetlands and rocky forested hillsides. • Has copper-colored heads, and reddish-brown, coppery bodies with chestnut brown crossbands. • Can grow to lengths of 30 inches. • Eats mice, small birds, lizards, other snakes. • Has fangs that inject venom. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

26. Cottonmouth • Lives in swamps, streams, marshes, and drainage ditches. • Has a dark olive or black body. • Can grow to lengths of 74 inches. • Eats fish, frogs, lizards, small turtles, baby alligators, birds, and other snakes. • Has fangs that inject venom. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

27. Pigmy Rattlesnake • Lives in rocky and partially wooded hillsides, pine woodlands, along riverbanks, and marshes. • Has a gray, brown, or black body, sometimes even pinkish or reddish. • Can grow to lengths of 61 centimeters. • Eats mice, lizards, snakes, frogs, insects, spiders. • Has specialized scales on the tail that are used as a rattle. • Has fangs that inject venom. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

28. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake • Lives in flatwoods, and occasionally will swim to islands off the Florida coast. • Can grow to lengths of 8 feet. • Body is olive or brown with a brownish gray banded tail. • Eats mice, rabbits, and squirrels. • Has specialized scales on the tail that are used as a rattle. • Has fangs that inject venom. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

29. References • Animal Diversity Web. 2006. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/ • Annotated Budak. 2005. Smilax. Accessed 9 February, 2007 http://budak.blogs.com/the_annotated_budak/2005/07/index.html • Barbados Free Press. 2006. Barbados big snake hunt. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/05/31/barbados-big-snake-hunt/ • Canadian Museum of Nature. 2006. Nature of the Rideau River. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://nature.ca/rideau/b/b4b-e.html • Caribbean Herpetological Society. 2006. Thread snake. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.corriebusinessgroup.com/PetDepot/HS/photos.php • Caribbean Island Terrestrial Habitats. 2005. Seasonal habitats. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://scitec.uwichill.edu.bb/bcs/courses/Ecology/BL21C/ECOL2453_sc/Seasonal_communities.html • College of Staten Island. Frank Burbrink. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://163.238.8.180/~fburbrink/Field%20Work/SE%202005/index.htm • Crowley Museum and Nature Center. Reptiles. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.crowleymuseumnaturectr.org/reptiles.htm • Cummins, R. Hays. 2002. Tropical ecosystems. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/html/2tropecoimages.html • Dorling Kindersley. 2004. Desert reptiles. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/cs/uk/11/licensing/children.html • Ecology Asia. 2007. Sunbeam snake. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/sunbeam_snake.htm • Florida and Georgia Snake and Lizard Photos. 2005. Florida water snakes. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.southalley.com/album_nerodia2.html • Henderson State University. 2004. Nature trivia, hognose snake. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.hsu.edu/content.aspx?id=1193 • Florida Museum of Natural History. 2000. Green water snake. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/FL-GUIDE/Nerodiacyclopion.htm • Iowa State University. Hognose snakes. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~curteck/hognose.htm • Means, Bruce. 2003. Around the world 2001. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.brucemeans.com/photo_world_2001a.htm • Microscopy-UK. 2004. Red-tail boa constrictor. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artnov04macro/pwsnake.html • Missouri Department of Conservation. 2004. Snakes of Missouri. Accessed 23 July 2006. http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/herpetol/snake/ • Nature’s Almanac. 2004. How to hatch reptile eggs. Accessed 23 July 2006. http://www.naturealmanac.com/archive/hatching_reptile/index.html • Nova Scotia Snakes. More snake facts and pictures. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/snakes/sfacts.htm • Reptile Review. Snake pictures. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.reptilereview.com/snakes.htm • Rubber Boa. 2001. Shedding. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.rubberboas.com/Content/shedding.html • Silver Clay Serpentarium. Rat snake photo gallery. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.scserp.com/SCS_Photo_Gallery_Rat_Snakes.htm • Timber Rattlesnake. Accessed 9 February 2007. http://www.timberrattlesnake.net/ • US Army Installation Management Agency. Venomous snakes. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.stewart.army.mil/dpw/wildlife/venomous_snakes.htm • University of Georgia. 2005. Crotalus adamanteus. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://pick4.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?res=640&see=I_AD49 • Venomous Snakes of Texas. 2007. Western cottonmouth. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.texas-venomous.com/leucostoma.html • Warwick Mills. 2006. Hunting clothes tested with live snakes. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.warwickmills.com/Hunting-Clothes-Testing.html • Wikipedia. 2007. Snakes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake NSF North Mississippi GK-8