Chrysopelea (Flying Snake)

Chrysopelea (Flying Snake)

Description:
 Chrysopelea, or more commonly known as the flying snake, is a genus that belongs to the family Colubridae. Flying snakes are mildly venomous,though they are considered harmless because their toxicity is not dangerous to humans.Their range is in Southeast Asia (the mainland, Greater and Lesser Sundas, Maluku, and the Philippines), southernmost China, India, Sri Lanka.

Habitat:
Chrysopelea ornata ornattissima is a flexible snake. It can be found in forests, on plantations, in gardens and in houses. This snake is regularly found in the inner city areas of Bangkok and Pattaya. As they feed on rodents, geckos and other lizards, they are often found on and in houses. These snakes are active during the day, can climb walls and are very fast.

Gliders:
Chrysopelea is also known under its assigned common name "flying snake". It glides by using its ridge scales along its belly,pushing against rough bark surface of tree trunks, allowing it to move vertically up a tree. Upon reaching the end of a tree's branch, the snake continues moving until its tail dangles from the branch's end. It then makes a J-shape bend,leans forward to select the level of inclination it wishes to travel to control its flight path, as well as selecting a desired landing area. Once it decides on a destination, it propels itself by thrusting its body up and away from the tree, sucking in its stomach, flaring out its ribs to turn its body in a "pseudo concave wing all the while making a continual serpentine motion of lateral undulation[9] parallel to the ground to stabilise its direction in midair in order to land safely.

The combination of sucking in its stomach and making a motion of lateral undulation in the air makes it possible for the snake to glide in the air, where it also manages to save energy compared to travel on the ground and dodge terrestrial bounded predators.The concave wing that a snake creates in sucking its stomach, flattens its body to up to twice its width from back of the head to the anal vent, which is close to the end of the snake's tail, causes the cross section of the snake's body to resemble the cross section of a frisbee or flying disc.When a flying disc spins in the air, the designed cross sectional concavity causes increased air pressure under the centre of the disc, causing lift for the disc to fly.A snake continuously moves in lateral undulation to create the same effect of increased air pressure underneath its arched body to glide.Flying snakes are able to glide better than flying squirrels and other gliding animals, despite the lack of limbs, wings, or any other wing-like projections, gliding through the forest and jungle it inhabits with the distance being as great as 100 m.Their destination is mostly predicted by ballistics; however, they can exercise some in-flight attitude control by "slithering" in the air.

venom:
If they feel threatened and cannot flee, they bite straight away. The species Chrysopelea belongs to the family of rearfanged snakes. However, the venom so mild that it does not have much of an effect on humans. 

Diet: 

Chrysopelea are diurnal, which means they hunt during the day. They prey upon lizards, frogs, birds and bats.

 

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Puerto Rican Boa

Puerto Rican Boa

 Description:

The Puerto Rican Boa or "culebr" is the largest native species of snake, and one of only three Boidae on the island. It typically grows to a length of 6 or 7 feet, although 12 foot long specimens have been reported. The Boa's color varies from tan to dark brown with 70 to 80 crossbars or spots which are outlined in very dark brown. 

Puerto Rican Boa

 Reproduction:

Pregnant females give birth to about 23-26 live young boas. Young boas have never been kept in captivity because their feeding patterns have never been studied.

Puerto Rican Boa

 Habitat:

The Puerto Rican Boa may be found on the ground or in trees. In some areas of the forest the Boa hangs from branches, vines and rock ledges at the mouths of caves and when bats brush by them or collide with them they capture and eat them.

 Feeding Behavior:

The boa feeds by seizing the prey in its jaws, wrapping several coils around the victim, and then constricting until the prey has suffocated. The prey is then swallowed head first. The feeding habits of the very young are unknown.

Since the karst region in which the Puerto Rican boa lives usually has many caves, the boa has the opportunity to feed on bats. It was previously unknown how the boa managed to capture the bats in flight. Observations revealed that boas hang at the opening of the cave, waiting until bats fly out of it. Then they grab a bat with their jaws before killing it via constriction.

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Rufous beaked snake

 Description:

  The rufous beaked snake is large and stout, with males reaching a maximum length of 1.1 m (3.6 ft) and females reaching 1.07 m (3.5 ft). It has a shortened skull, as with all beaked snakes, giving it a clear distinction between its head and body, as well as a dark brown eye stripe running down the side of its head.[6] Its eyes are large with round pupils. While its back tends to be yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, its belly is cream or yellowish-white.

 Geographic range:

The rufous beaked snake's range includes north Botswana, north Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Sudan. 

 

 Biology:

 Diurnal animals, rufous beaked snakes hunt small animals, including other snakes, but stay in burrows during the hottest part of the day. In the summer, females lay eight to 17 cylindrical eggs with dimensions of about 36 mm × 21 mm (1.4 in × 0.83 in) over the span of several days.The snake's venom, one of its components of which is a neurotoxin called rufoxin, causes hypotension and circulatory shock in small mammals, but is not dangerous to humans.

 

Venom:

Although this snake is mildly venomous it poses no danger to man and hardly even attempts to bite. 

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About California King Snake

    About California King Snake

About California King Snake
By Alex Bramwell, eHow Contributor

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About California King Snake thumbnail   
California king snakes have black bodies and white stripes.

Found across the Western and Southwestern United States, the California king snake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) is one of 80 recognized subspecies of the king snake. The subspecies has a number of different color morphs. California kings are popular and harmless pets. Hybrids with other king snake subspecies and closely related snakes such as the corn snake (Elaphe guttata) are available

Description

    At a maximum length of 48 inches and 5 inches in girth California kings are smaller than other king snake species. The head is small and barely wider than the body and the scales are shiny and smooth. The typical coloration is white bands over a black or dark brown background, but there are unbanded races with a single vertical line running from head to tail and others with lateral stripes. Desert king snakes tend to be brown with yellower stripes while coastal animals have the highest contrast black and white bands. The pet trade has albino varieties, but albino snakes are rarely found in the wild.

Range

    While common in California, California king snakes are also found as far north as Oregon and as far west as southwestern Colorado. The subspecies also occurs in northern New Mexico and in Arizona, where it hybridizes with other subspecies of king snake. The California king snake is also found in northern Mexico and Baja California.

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Snake facts

Snake facts

• There are nearly 3,000 species of snake in the world.
• Only around 375 snake species are venomous, and only a small proportion of these are potentially harmful to humans.
• All snakes are carnivorous.
• Most snake species have only one functional lung.
• Snakes have no eyelids or external ears.
• With its highly toxic venom, the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) is believed to be the world’s deadliest snake. One bite contains enough venom to kill 100 men.
• The longest living snake, the reticulated python (Python reticulatus), can grow to over ten metres long.
• The largest ever snake was the Titanoboa which lived 60 million years ago and would have measured up to 15 metres long.
• The smallest snake in the world is the Barbados threadsnake (Leptotyphlops carlae), growing to around four inches. This species was only discovered as recently as 2008.
• The snake with the longest fangs is the gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica), with fangs of up to 50 millimetres in length.
• The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is considered to be one of the fastest snakes in the world, reaching speeds of up to 20 kilometres an hour.
• Spitting cobras can spit venom up to about eight feet using a specially modified fang.
• The boa constrictor is the only living animal whose common name is the same as its binomial scientific name.

Snake characteristics

Snakes are specialised limbless reptiles, most closely related to lizards. Ranging in size from around ten centimetres to over ten metres, snake body shape and length varies greatly depending on each species’ lifestyle and diet. Snakes are found in a wide range of different habitats and are able to move over land, climb, swim or burrow with ease.

Snakes typically have poor eyesight and hearing but are able to detect their surroundings using other senses. By flicking its tongue, a snake is able to pick up scent molecules which are analyzed using a special organ known as Jacobson’s organ. Some species have heat sensitive pits in the scales around their mouth which can help them to detect warm-blooded prey.

Snake skin is covered in separate scales and topped with a tough layer of keratin for added protection. As this keratin can become worn or damaged and does not allow for growth, snakes must shed their skin from time to time. Snakes typically shed most often when they are young, and also after hibernation and before and after giving birth or laying eggs. Unlike lizards, snakes shed their skin in one piece, including the eye caps. Check out this video of a grass snake (Natrix natrix) shedding its skin.

All snakes are carnivorous, and are skilful predators which feed on prey ranging from small insects to crocodiles. Some snakes actively chase prey while others use stealth to ambush their unsuspecting victims. Small prey can often be swallowed alive and whole, but when tackling larger animals, snakes may employ a venomous bite or constricting embrace to subdue or kill their quarry before it is consumed.

Snakes are well known for their ability to swallow large prey, thanks to their inward pointing teeth, unfused lower jaw and extremely flexible skin. Eating such large meals means that some species need to feed less than once a month, and some pythons and boas can survive for a year or more without eating.

Although venomous snakes are among the most famous and the most feared, only a small proportion of snakes are actually venomous, and many of these pose no threat to humans. Snakes are reactive rather than aggressive and will typically only bite when threatened. Venom comprises of modified digestive juices that not only subdue or paralyze the prey animal, but also begin to digest it, breaking down the skin and internal organs. Some species of snake use venom defensively, such as the Mozambique spitting cobra (Naja mossambica).

While most snakes lay eggs, there are also a number of species which give birth to live young. Although very few snake species show any level of parental care, there are a small number of species such as pythons, in which the female will coil around the eggs to guard them from predators and possibly help to incubate them too. Although nearly all snakes reproduce sexually, there are a few which can reproduce through parthenogenesis, meaning that all members of the species are female and have hatched from unfertilised eggs. One such example is the Brahminy blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus).
Snake conservation

Globally speaking, one of the biggest threats facing snakes and indeed many other species is habitat loss, as the expanding human population constantly requires additional space and resources. In addition to this, the introduction of predatory species into a snake’s habitat can have devastating consequences, as seen in the case of the Antiguan racer (Alsophis antiguae). Snakes are also collected for their skin, for meat or for pet trade, and sometimes snakes may simply be exterminated by local people who are afraid of them.

There are a number of methods used to help conserve snakes. Habitat can be protected through the creation of nature reserves and national parks, and outreach programs can help to educate people and overcome prejudice towards snakes. Snakes can also be bred in captivity, although this may sometimes prove difficult and success may be limited.

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Snake Myths And Facts

 1) Snakes Go Blind During the Heat of Summer

It still surprises me how many people believe this myth. Snakes do not simply go blind based on temperature or time of year. However, snakes close to shedding their skins do experience a temporary loss or inhibition of vision as their old ocular scales, protective scales covering the eyes, begin to separate from new ones developing underneath.

During this time, the eyes appear a milky gray-blue, and the snake’s ability to see is minimal. In captivity, this period of temporary blindness may happen anytime before a shed, but snakes in the wild typically do not always eat as much as their captive counterparts, so they often shed old skins less frequently. In nature, especially in the southern United States, a great many snakes slip into a shed cycle in late summer, so perhaps the myth that all snakes “go blind” was born during this time of year.

2)Snakes chase people.

 Many people who have spent time outdoors have a story about being chased by snakes. But herpetologists, people who study reptiles and amphibians, never seem to have this experience. They find that snakes are always trying to escape. To understand this perceived behavior of a snake chasing someone, one must first realize that a snake has nothing to gain by chasing a person. A snake obviously could not eat a person and so is not looking for food. They are not vengeful and do not chase people out of sheer hate

3) Rattlesnakes always add one rattle a year.

 A rattlesnake adds one rattle every time it sheds its skin. Snakes may shed several times in the course of a year, each time adding a new rattle. Rattles also may break off. Determining a snake's age by counting rattles usually results in an inaccurate estimate of the snake's age.

4)snakes drink milk.

The real fact is that snakes hate milk and it is scientifically proved that when snakes are forced to drink milk they get sick.
3. It is falsely believed that snakes can listen to music. Snakes never dance to the tune of the snake charmers. In fact snakes cannot hear the music it is the movement of the snake charmer that forces the snakes to follow a particular movement.

5)It is a common myth that snakes dance to been played by charmers.

Snakes are normally unresponsive. They are unable to hear the sounds that are transmitted in the air. Their body helps to catch the vibrations from the surface. Snakes believe that the moving charmer & his instruments are going to attack them so they quickly change their position & constantly sway their heads in the direction of instruments. This is a safeguard posture.

6) Bite received from a snake in water is not poisonous.

 Another false belief is that a bite received from a snake in water is not poisonous but the fact is that venomous snakes either when bitten on land or on water is equally poisonous.

 7)Many people believe that there are ‘Two-headed’ snakes.

This myth about ‘Two-headed’ snakes generally gets popularized by the snake-charmers who always try to prolong this mythological state about snakes in India so that they can persist in their job of attracting huge crowds towards their snake shows. Actually ‘Two-headed’ snake does not exist.

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yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platura)

 yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platura)

 yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platura)

Description:

The body of this snake is compressed, posteriorly less than half the diameter of the neck; the body scales are juxtaposed, subquadrangular in shape, and in 23–47 rows around thickest part of body; ventral scales, 264–406 in number, are very small and, if distinct, divided by a longitudinal groove, but usually are indistinguishable from adjacent body scales. The head is narrow, with an elongated snout; head shields are entire, nostrils are superior, and nasal shields are in contact with one another; the prefrontal scale is in contact with second upper labial; one or two preoculars, two or three postoculars, and two or three small anterior temporals are present; seven or eight upper labials are found, with four or five below the eye, but separated from the border by a subocular. Colors of the snake are variable, but most often distinctly bicolored, black above, yellow or brown below, with the dorsal and ventral colors sharply demarcated from one another; ventrally, there may be a series of black spots or bars on the yellow or brown background, or the yellow may extend dorsally so there is only a narrow middorsal black stripe, or a series of black crossbars (M.A. Smith, 1943: 476–477, gives more complete descriptions of the color pattern variants). Total length for males is up to 720 millimetres (28 in), for females up to 880 millimetres (35 in); tail length for males is up to 80 millimetres (3.1 in), females up to 90 millimetres (3.5 in).

sea snake

Venom:

The venom of this species is highly potent, like other sea snakes. In Australia, sea snakes are rarely aggressive and bites are uncommon. The subcutaneous LD50 of the venom is 0.067 mg/kg and the venom yield per bite is 1.0–4.0 mg

Habits:

 These snakes breed in warm waters; they are ovoviviparous with a gestation period of about six months. According to Ditmars, females bear live young in tidal pools.They are helpless on land, and they sometimes form large aggregations of thousands in surface waters. These snakes use their neurotoxic venom against their fish prey. No human fatalities from envenomation are known.

Antivenom:

Sea snake venom can cause damage to skeletal muscle with consequent myoglobinuria, neuromuscular paralysis or direct renal damage. The venoms of significant species of sea snake are neutralised with Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Ltd (of Melbourne, Australia) sea snake (Enhydrina schistosa) antivenom. If that preparation is not available, tiger snake or polyvalent antivenom should be used. No deaths have been recorded from bites in Australian waters.[18][19] The E. schistosa antivenom was tested specifically on Pelamus platurus, and it effectively neutralised the venom.

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