South American rattlesnakes can get up to six feet long. They have a very thick body. They are dark brown and dark green with some lighter colors and have a diamond pattern along there back but are not diamond back rattlesnakes. Male South American rattlesnakes are a bit bigger than the females. The South American rattlesnakes’ tail is not as big as other North American rattlesnakes, but it is still prominent. They can also camouflage very well in long grasses.
Habitat
South American rattlesnakes like to live in grasslands and sometimes migrate to higher ground to avoid floods. They are territorial and usually return to the places they were born in.
Diet and Behavior
South American rattlesnakes are nocturnal and are mostly active from 6pm to 9pm. They lie near paths that small animals take and ambush them. They inject the venom then let the animal try to run away. This is so the snake does not get hurt by the thrashing animal while the venom kills them. The snake will then eat it once it is dead.
Fun facts
Native Americans used deer livers that they would get rattlesnakes to bite to make poison arrows. Using the liver made the poison even more toxic. They also would dip the arrow heads into the venom glands of a snake that they recently killed. The snake venom is very toxic because it causes issues with the nervous system and on tissue unlike most snakes which just cause issues with one. Brazil gets around 20,000 snakebites per year and around 10 percent of them are from the South American rattlesnake. They live for around 10 to 25 years.
The rainbow boa has iridescent scales. Iridescent means that their scales show different colors of light when looked at from different angles. Their scales have small microscopic ridges to angle light to create a rainbow effect on top of their scales. This rainbow effect is more prominent after shedding. Scientists are not sure why they have this. Their scales are reddish brown with black stripes and blotches. They also have orange inside of the black spots. Rainbow boas can be around four to six feet long. Large females can get up to nine pounds in weight.
Diet
Brazilian rainbow boas are carnivores. They like to eat lizards, rodents, birds, bats, and some aquatic animals. All boa constrictors are non-venomous, and they suffocate their prey to kill it. They also ambush their prey. They can swim in water to catch their prey, but they usually do not. At zoos they are usually fed rodents.
Habitat and Range
The Brazilian rainbow boa is found in Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname. They live in woodland forests that are usually humid and can also be found in savannas. They are often near bodies of water also.
Fun Facts
Rainbow boas are nocturnal and use their heat sensing pits to find their prey in the dark. Rainbow Boas are also called slender boas. They can live up to 10 years ten years in the wild and in captivity then can live up to thirty years. Sometimes female rainbow boas can reproduce by themselves without any male and the baby boas share 100 percent of the mother’s DNA. This is very rare though. There are also albino rainbow boas which have white scales and red eyes.
The emerald tree boa is the color of emerald green with white stripes or dots of white scales along its back. The emerald tree boa uses its color for camouflage in the foliage where it lives. The white stripes help to make their outline less visible to predators. Their head is very broad, and they have a prehensile tail. A prehensile tail means that their tail can be used for grasping objects or being another limb while climbing. The emerald tree boa’s eyes are vertical which helps them see in the dark. They also have heat sensing pits which allow them to see their preys warm blood. The emerald tree boa’s teeth face backwards to help them catch prey and not let the prey escape. They are around five to six and a half feet long and they weigh up to six and a half pounds.
Diet
Emerald tree boas are constrictors, which means instead of injecting venom into there prey, they squeeze it with their bodies until their prey suffocates. They usually eat lizards, rodents, and small mammals. They are also ambush predators. They hang on a tree branch waiting for prey to walk by, then they strike and bite their prey to hold on to it and then constrict it. Like all snakes, they swallow their food whole. If they get a good meal, then they do not have to eat for almost a month due to their slow metabolism.
Habitat and Range
Emerald tree boas live in South America. They live in the countries, Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Bolivia, and Venezuela. Emerald tree boas live in tropical rainforests. They are often are near bodies of water like lakes and rivers.
Fun Facts
The amazon basin emerald tree boas scientific name is Corallus caninus. They can live up to 20 years old. Young Emerald tree boas are orange and red and grow up and turn emerald. Male tree boas are two to three pounds and the females can get up to four pounds. They are also nocturnal. They bask in the sun during the day but do not move around. There are two species of emerald tree boa. There is the Amazon Basin emerald tree boa and the Guiana Shield emerald tree boa. The Green tree python is very similar to the emerald tree boa, but the emerald tree boa only lives in South America, and the green tree python live in Australia and Asia. Green tree pythons have white dots that are small and that run down there back in a line. The young tree boas are prey to most reptiles, rodents, mammals, and amphibians. The adults are mainly just prey to Crested and Harpy eagles. Emerald tree boas can have around 5 to 20 baby tree boas. The young tree boas can care for themselves and do not need to be taken care of by their parents. They also do not lay eggs.
Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes live in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Sometimes currents carry them into temperate waters but those are far from there feeding and breeding grounds. They have also been in Russia and Tasmania which makes them the snake with the world’s largest range. They have also been known to wash up on beaches in Australia due to Storms and onshore winds. When they are found like this they are usually in a bad condition.
Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes only meal is fish. That means they are a Piscivore. It hunts stealthily, sneaking upon its prey. Another tactic, is they lay motionless at the surface. Fish come up looking for shelter underneath it. Fish often do this under floating debris like logs. They have their mouth open and swipe to the side to catch any unlucky fish. If fish are behind its head, it can swim backwards to catch it. In captivity they sometimes eat frogs though that is not in their diet. Frogs were once in their diet millions of years ago. Sometimes in captivity they lunge and bite at other snakes in the tank. They also can catch food if its dangled above the water by lunging up and grabbing it out of the air.
The Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake does not have many predators. There potential predators are marine mammals, sea birds, and large fish. There yellow bellies serve as a warning to any predators. They are toxic to ingest so any predators who eat them will then know not to in the future. If they are tricked to in captivity, they will regurgitate it afterward.
People are not likely to see a Yellow-Bellied Sea Snake unless a injured or sick animal drifts ashore. If this snake is roughly handled it is probably going to bite. There fangs are only 1.5 millimeters long, there venom is highly toxic and contains mycotoxins and neurotoxins. Some symptoms are paralysis, muscle pain, stiffness drooping eyelids, drowsiness, vomiting, and death:).
Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes have the biggest range of any snake in the world. They also never have to go on land or the sea floor. There scientific name is Pelamis platura. Their body has black on top and yellow on the bottom. Their tail is yellow with black spots. Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes do not lay eggs. The Yellow-Bellied Sea Snakes lifespan is around 3.5 years.
The green anaconda can be found in many places such as Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Brazil, Northeast South America, and Trinidad. The green anaconda is very large is cumbersome on land, but it is very stealthy in water. The green anaconda likes to spend most of its time in muddy water waiting for the time to ambush prey. The green anaconda waits in muddy water and it also uses it’s time in a tree because it blends in well with a tree so they can start their ambushing. If you were going out to find a green anaconda you would find them in flooded forests floors, swamps, slow moving rivers, and the amazon.
Diet
The green anaconda eats lots of things, especially big animals, like large rodents, deer, fish, peccaries, capybaras, tapirs, turtles, birds, dogs, sheep, caimans, and jaguars. The green anaconda is able to unhinge their jaw and swallow their food headfirst no matter what the size is. When green anacondas eat large meals it will take time to digest and can take them weeks to months to digest.
Threats
When it comes to the top of the food chain, the green anaconda does not necessarily have natural predators. The green anacondas do have a fear of humans. Humans are a big threat to the green anaconda because humans are afraid that they will attack them and they want to protect themselves. Humans also kill green anacondas for their skin. That skin can be used for decoration or leather. The green anaconda is also losing their habitat due to deforestation.
Giant prehistoric snakes of ancient times.
There were two types of giant snakes. The Gigantophis was one thousand pounds and was thirty-three feet long. They are part of the family of Madtisio. The other one was The South American Titanoboa. The South American Titanoboa is fifty feet long and weighs as much as a ton. It also ate giant Prehistoric crocodiles.
Earlier snakes of prehistoric times.
The first snakes were in the craetasues period. There were four of them. The Najash, the Pachyrhachism, the Haasiophism and the Eupodiphis. They all lived in the Middle east except, the Najash who lived in South America. They only had two stubby legs. We think they may have evolved from the Mosasaurus.
Basic facts about the Green Anaconda.
Green anacondas scientific name is Euncties murinus. Green anacondas lie in the water at night to ambush prey. Green anacondas are constrictor snakes. That means when they bite something there prey doesn’t get poisoned. After they bite it, they coil around it to strangle it. They usually kill smaller animals but if there habitat has bigger animals they can also eat those. Green anacondas take what they killed into the water to make sure biting ants don’t get to the carcass. They also do this, so the smell doesn’t attract Jaguars. People kill them because they want their skin.. Green anacondas are not aggressive. Green anacondas are also one of the biggest snakes in the world.
Size
Green anacondas can get to thirty feet long. They are the biggest of the anaconda species. They can weigh about five hundred kilograms which is 1100 pounds. Females are much larger than males. They have circle and oval spots that are yellow and black. Green anacondas are an olive brown color.
Fun facts about the Green anaconda.
Green anacondas scientific name means Good Swimmer in Latin. They live thirty years in captivity and around ten in the wild. Green anaconda babies are two feet long. Green anacondas give live birth. Green anacondas can breathe under water for up to ten minutes. They are the heaviest snake in the world. Green anacondas are cannibals. Some Green anacondas side wind. There windpipe comes out when they eat so much they cant breathe.
A Black Mamba’s scientific name is Dendroaspis polylepis. Black Mambas are reptiles. They live for about 11 or more years. Black Mambas can get up to fourteen feet long. They can weigh up to 3.5 pounds. They are called Black Mambas because they have black tongues. Black Mambas can kill you with their venom. Black Mambas are the fastest snake.
Venom
Black Mambas have two fangs with venom to protect themselves from predators. If a Black Mambas bites you and you don’t get antivenom you will die within twenty minutes. Unfortunately the antivenom is not available in lots of countries.
Characteristics
Adult Black Mambas are usually around 2.5 meters long (or eight feet). Black Mambas scales are olive-gray colar. They can move up to 12.5 miles per hour. Black Mambas use their speed mainly to run away from predators, instead of catching prey. Though there speed helps them catch prey.
Black
Mamba Habitat
Black Mambas live in South and East Africa. They live in savannas, rocky hills, and open woodlands. They like to rest in hollow trees, burrows or empty termite mounds.
Black Mambas’ Behavior
Black Mambas are usually shy and will almost always escape when confronted. When these snakes are cornered, Black Mambas will raise their head, with a third of their body going off the ground, spread out their cobra like neck-flap and open their dark, black mouth, and hiss. If an attacker confronts the Black Mamba, it is not going to strike once but instead will keep on injecting large amounts of potent neuro and cardiotoxin (their venom) with each strike. Black Mambas are one of Africa’s longest and most venomous snakes.
Black
Mambas’ Diet
Black Mambas like to eat small mammals and birds. Some full-grown Black Mambas have been found to be eating larger birds and other snakes. Black Mambas catch their prey by biting them and then injecting their venom into them which kills them quickly. When they inject their venom, their prey is either dead or paralyzed. Black Mambas swallow their food whole because they only have two fangs instead of lots of teeth. Black Mambas can dislocate their jaws to eat food up to four times the size of their mouth.
Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Group
The Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Group was founded by Transfrontier Africa in 2013. They were founded to protect the Oilfants West Region of Balule Nature Reserve. They also started protecting parts of The Great Kruger National Park.
They help Black Mambas but also Rhinos. The group
contains thirty-two women. These women want people not only in their town but
in the whole world to understand that conservation is better than poaching.
This group is helping to make poaching harder, undesirable, and unprofitable. The women that run the group love Black Mambas, Rhinos, and all kinds of wildlife.
Indian Cobras are awesome. Indian Cobras live in many different countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan. Indian Cobras usually live in open, wild forests. Indian Cobras are known for their hoods which look like a smiley face on their backs. Their color varies from black, dark brown, to a creamy white. They are 1.8 meters to 2.2 meters long. Lots of snakes don’t protect their eggs but Indian cobras protect their eggs. They mostly put their eggs in a hollow tree or in the ground. The female guards the eggs and only leaves to eat. The incubation takes around 50 days. A hatch ling can rear up, spread its hood, and strike. When an Indian cobra is threatened it will raise a third of its body and flare its hood which forms with its flexible neck ribs. Indian cobras usually eat rodents, lizards, and frogs. It strikes quickly then waits for its prey to die. Like all snakes, Indian cobras swallow their food whole. It sometimes wanders into buildings in search of rodents. The Indian Cobra eats rodents that carry sicknesses and eat people’s food. Cobra venom is a potential source of different medicines including anti-cancer drugs and pain-killers. Indian cobras are highly venomous, and they are lethal. Indian Cobras hunt rodents that thrive where people live. They often strike at people when they are hunting rodents and sometimes, they kill people. Indian cobras are not endangered but they are being hunted for its hood to make hand bags. We must save them!
Hindus in India worship cobras even though they are deadly while many Christians think snakes are like the devil. Hindus think a cobra is a positive symbol. Legends say that cobras protect important people and gods with their hoods. The Tamil people who live in southern India call Cobras Nulla Pambu which means “the good snake”. Creatures called Nagas are mythical semi-divine serpent-gods with five heads that are known as protectors of sacred places. They live in the underworld beneath the earth and the water. Many people in India annually risk their lives for the Great Cobra Festival. Shirala is a town in west-central India and hosts the great Cobra festival in July. Before the festival starts, men spend weeks digging up ground and earth looking for Cobras. When the Cobra is found, they carefully put it into a big earthen pot. When the festival starts, the people with Cobras parade around the town. When the Snake Charmers are done, the Cobras let out of their big pots. Handlers hold onto their tails when offerings are made. It is an annual Indian tradition.
Sometimes farmers actually catch snake charmers’ snakes. Snake charmers sometimes catch their own cobras. Usually farmers catch the snakes and then sell them to snake charmers. In 1972, a law was made to stop people from catching them. The ban was made to stop people from hunting them, but it also affected the snake charmers. In the 1970s, one tannery alone was processing 500 cobra skins a day. Snake Charming probably originated in India. The Hindu religion thinks Cobras are sacred animals so Snake Charmers were thought to be holy people. People who practice Hinduism thought snakes were protected by the gods. They also thought that Snake Charmers were influenced by the gods. The history of snake charming has been through lots of changes.
You need lots of materials to be a snake charmer. One of these materials is a basket, another one of these materials are a colorful mat, here is another one a flute and you will need a snake, that is all you need to be a snake charmer. The Plunji flute is made from dried fruit shells and two bamboo pipes. You use the Plunji flute for making the snake move side to side. When snake charmers work with their snakes, they lay the cobra in a basket with a blanket inside. A person plays a flute and the cobras sways back and forth. In ancient times, being a snake charmer meant you have magical powers. Snakes don’t have ears, so the cobra is swaying to the movement of the flute. If the snake charmer is not careful, one strike could kill the charmer. Each snake has fangs. People have different misconceptions about snake charming.
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