Snakes - Exotic Pets

Common myths about snakes number 1
Snakes are cold and slimy - NO they are not

Snakes can feel cool to the touch, they are cold blooded animals and rely on the ambient temperature for warmth, if they have been lying somewhere that is a little cool, and lower than your body temperature, they will feel cool to you when you touch them.

Snakes, unless they've been crawling around in the mud, are never slimy. Their skin is scaly, but very smooth, and dry to the touch.

In fact the most noticable thing about snakes when you hold them is their weight, the sensation of strength and the feeling of the muscles moving under the skin.

Snakes populate much of the world, living in warm climates in deserts, in forests, in grassland and even in the sea. They vary hugely in terms of size and colour, but have in common the fact that they all eat their prey whole. Probably the biggest division between snakes is the method used to kill prey, being either poisonous or constricting. All the snakes refer to here are constrictors, keeping poisonous snakes as pets is extrodinarily dangerous and should be left to zoos and wildlife parks.

Common myths about snakes number 2
Snakes crush their prey to death - Well sort of

In real life a snake will wrap it's coils around it's prey's torso and squeeze firmly. The victim struggles to free itself and eventually takes a breath then breathes out, on exhalation the victims chest shrinks slightly and the snake tightens it's coils, the next breath is then more difficult to take. This process is continued until the victim finds it impossible to breathe and suffocates to death.

Once the constricting process is over, the snake will then swallow it's meal whole. The snake will usually turn the meal round in it's mouth until it can swallow it head first. This makes it easier for the snake to manage big meals since it will be less hampered by the hair or fur, and the preys legs will tend to fold in the right direction.

Snakes do not need to eat very often, and it is common even for pet snakes to not eat for weeks or months at a time and not suffer at all. The frequency of meals is dictated mainly by the size of the snake and the size of the meal.

A large snake like an Indian Python can take sizable prey like small pibs and goats, this will last the snake for months before it feels the need to eat again. Pet snakes rarely reach those sort of proportions because they become dangerous and difficult to look after, but even a full grown Corn snake which will take an adult mouse of small rat, only needs feeding maybe once a week.

Other factors that affect how often a snake will eat are the temperature, in therefore in the wild the season of the year, the breeding season and pregnancy, shedding of the snake's skin.

Common myths about snakes number 3
Snakes dislocate their jaws to eat - Well yes actually

Snakes very often eat meals that are considerably larger than their heads, and the only way they can do this is by separating their upper and lower jaws and stretching their mouths around the meal.

Each jaw also operates as two halves, one half holding the meal in place with it's backward pointing teeth while the other half moves forward, in this way the meal is effectively 'walked' down the throat.

Often after eating you will see a snake open it's mouth very wide and relocating the upper and lower jaws.

Because a reptiles skin cannot grow and stretch fast enough to cope with the growing animal inside it, all reptiles periodically shed (or slough) their skins. This is particularly impressive with snakes since, without the encumbrance of legs, the skin is free to come off in one piece, and it is reassuring for the snake keeper when this happens because it is indicative of a healthy snake.

It is possible to detect when a snake is going to shed in a number of ways, the snake becomes irritable, doesn't like being handled and goes off it's food. The skin takes on a slightly cloudy appearance as the old skin starts to lift away from the new one forming underneath, this is especially noticable over the eyes which change from a glossy black to a milky colour. By this stage the snake should be left alone and nature allowed to take it's course.

When the snake is ready to shed it will seek out hard, scratchy surfaces to rub it's face against, this encourages the skin to lift and start peeling back from the lips. Some snakes also choose to lie in their water bowl to help the skin to soften, then, just like removing a sock inside out, the old skin peels smoothly away as the snake crawls forward.

At first the discarded skin is very soft and slightly moist, but quickly dries to a scaly, tissue like texture, and can be either thrown away, or kept as a momento. The newly unwrapped snake now looks at it's best, it's colours and shine will never be so vibrant as when it has just shed it's skin.

Photo courtesy of Living Jungle
Boa Constrictor

Boas are popular pet snakes, they are very attractive, easy to look after and respond well to handling. They need a jungle type habitat and unusually for snakes, bear live young. They are reasonably large snakes, males reaching about 2.5m and females about 3m to 3.5m.

Check out this site for some more great pictures of Boas and Pythons.

Photo courtesy of Living Jungle
Northern Pine Snake

These three snakes are all very similar.

The milksnake is the smallest of the trio, only about 1m long, from a semi desert habitat in Mexico.

The other two snakes reach about 2m, and although they too originate from semi arid parts of the world, they do require a little more water.

Their diet consists of lizards, chicks and birds eggs, and all three snakes can become friendly with their keeper.

The Bull snake has the unusual feature of forward pointing eyes.

Try this site for more information and pictures of Bullsnakes

There is another close relative to the Northern Pine (not pictured), the Southern Pine Snake, which comes from the southern states of the US.

Photo courtesy of Living Jungle
Sinaloan Milksnake
Photo courtesy of Living Jungle
Bull Snake

Albino snakes are comparatively rare in the wild, their unusual colouration making them easy targets for enemies, but they do exist.

The Kingsnake is normally black with yellow and white bands, they grow to about 1.5m and not surpisingly hail from the Western coast of the US where they prefer semi arid conditions.

Photo courtesy of Living Jungle
Albino Californian Kingsnake