Snakes Fun Facts
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Snakes Facts Edited By Aryeh Schechter תשסט Aryeh
Snakes Fun Facts
SNAKES ARE REPTILES Snakes belong to the animal group called reptiles. This group also includes crocodiles, lizards, and turtles. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals that raise their body temperature by lying in the sun or lower it by crawling into the shade. Their body temperature changes to the temperature of its surroundings. Because of this, snakes that live in colder climates must hibernate through the winter. They will find burrows or caves and fall into a deep sleep until the weather warms up enough for them. There are more than 2,700 species of snakes in the world. They live almost everywhere, in deserts, forests, oceans, streams, and lakes. Snakes live on the ground, in trees, and in water. There are a few areas where snakes do not live. They cannot survive in places where the ground stays frozen all year around, such as in the high mountainous regions, above the Arctic Circle and Antarctica. Some islands, including Ireland and New Zealand, do not have snakes at all.
Rattlesnake entering its burrow.
SUIT OF ARMOR
Snakes Fun Facts Snakes bodies are covered with plates and scales. Without this protective armor snakes could not move over rough or hot surfaces like tree bark, rocks, and hot desert sand. Their scales are also nearly waterproof and help to keep the water out. Rough belly scales allow the snake to keep their grip on rough branches and to push off of surfaces when they need to move. Scales are made up of layers of cells stacked one on top of the other. The outer cells are dead and protect the living ones underneath them. A few times every year a snake will shed a layer of dead skin. The cells underneath are then ready to take over as the outer layer. When a snake is ready to shed it’s eyes get cloudy and it is temporarily blinded. Why? Because snakes eyes do not have eyelids (that’s why they don’t blink) but instead are covered with a clear scale called a spectacle. When a snake is ready to shed its old skin it will rub up against a rough surface, like a rock, to rip the skin and then slide right out. Just like taking off a sock!
Snake Scales
Snakes Fun Facts
BODY OF A SNAKE In case you were wondering (cause they are soooo flexible), snakes actually do have bones. Animals with bones are known as vertebrates -- snakes are vertebrates. A snake’s backbone is made up of many vertebrae attached to ribs. Humans have approximately 33 vertebrae and 24 ribs. Snakes have between 100-400 vertebrae with as many ribs attached! That is what makes them so flexible and helps them move along! All those bones and the strong muscles protect the internal organs. The throat of the snake takes up the front one-third of the body. It leads to a really long stomach, which, like the throat, will stretch to the size of whatever the snake is eating. Snakes also have two long lungs, a long liver, kidneys and intestines. The last quarter of the snake has a small anal opening (they have to GO OUT!) covered by a scale called the anal plate, and the rest is tail made up of more bone.
It's hard to believe snakes have bones when they can get this twisted up but they do!
HOW SNAKES MOVE
Snakes Fun Facts Snakes have four ways of moving around. Since they LOST THEIR legs they use their muscles and their scales to do the “walking”. 1. Concertina method: this is when snakes bunch themselves up and then throw themselves forward. 2. Serpentine method: This motion is what most people think of when they think of snakes. Snakes will push off of any bump or other surface, rocks, trees, etc., to get going. They move in a wavey motion. They wouldn’t be able to move over slick surfaces like glass at all. 3. Sidewinding: This method is similar to an inchworm’s movement. The snake will lift the middle of its body up and then push it down forcing its head to move forward. 4. Rectilinear Method: This is a slow, creeping, straight movement. The snake uses some of the wide scales on its belly to grip the ground while pushing forward with the others. Side winding
Snakes Fun Facts
JAWS! The jaws of the snakes are not fused together. That means that unlike our jaws, snakes jaws are not hooked up at the back of their mouths. This makes it possible for them to eat very big meals, bigger than their own heads! That would be like you swallowing a whole watermelon! If you had your mouth full of a watermelon, do you think you could breathe? Not likely! Snakes can. They have a little tube at the bottom of their mouth that comes out far enough to get air when the rest of their mouth is full.
Snakes Fun Facts
FANGS! Although most snakes have teeth, four rows on the top and two on the bottom, not all snakes have fangs. Only the poisonous ones do. Fangs are sharp, long, hollow teeth that are hooked up to small sacs in the snake’s head behind their eyes. These sacs produce poisonous liquid called venom סם הות. When a snake bites, venom is released and starts to work immediately to kill or paralyze the prey. For some snakes with really long fangs, the fangs will fold back into the mouth so they don’t bite themselves! When a snake loses or breaks a fang it will grow another. Since the poison will work almost immediately, some snakes will hold onto the animal, which is unlucky enough to be in its mouth, until it stops struggling and the snake can start to swallow it. Other snakes will bite and then release the animal so that it does not get hurt when the animal struggles and slowly dies. These snakes will use their flicking tongue to smell and follow the victim until it dies and can be eaten. Sea snakes are thought to be the most poisonous of all snakes. Other poisonous snakes include Adders, Cottonmouths, Rattlesnakes, copperheads, and Cobras. Spitting Cobras can spit venom up to 6 feet away! Yuk! In many countries, venomous snakes are caught and their venom is “milked” from their fangs by squeezing the venom sac and forcing the release of the poison. This venom is then used to create a medicine called antivenin that is used to save the lives of people bitten by snakes. Snakes will keep producing more venom for as long as they live. Cobra Snake
Snakes Fun Facts
IT MAKES 'SENSE' Snakes use their senses to hunt, escape danger, and to find a mate. Since snakes have very poor eyesight their other senses need to make up for it. Some snakes can smell with their noses but ALL snakes smell with their tongues. When a snake sticks out its tongue it smells its surroundings. The moist tongue collects scents and small organisms from whatever it touches and from the air around it. When the tongue goes back into the mouth the forks touch a special sensory spot called the Jacobson's organ on the roof of the mouth and tells the snake what it smells. Snakes have a small notch in their lips that they can stick their tongues through so they don’t need to open their mouths. Snakes can absorb vibrations through the ground and determine the size of the prey or danger by its movements.
In addition to taste and smell, most vertebrates use Jacobson's organ (also termed the vomeronasal organ and vomeronasal pit) to detect trace quantities of chemicals. While snakes and other reptiles flick substances into Jacobson's organ with their tongues, several mammals (e.g., cats) exhibit the Flehmen reaction. When 'Flehmening', an animal appears to sneer as it curls its upper lip to better expose the twin vomeronasal organs for chemical sensing. In mammals, Jacobson's organ is used not simply to identify minute quantities of chemicals, but also for subtle communication between other members of the same species, through the emission and reception of chemical signals called pheromones. In the 1800s, Danish physician L. Jacobson detected structures in a patient's nose that became termed 'Jacobson's organ' (although the organ was actually first reported in humans by F. Ruysch in 1703).
Snakes Fun Facts
"I smell you!"
Snakes Fun Facts
Mmm-YUMMY! Snakes are carnivores, which means they will eat only meat including each other. Some snakes are hunters while others will lie in waiting to ambush their prey. They can be very sneaky and will try to trick their victims into coming to them! The Cantil snake, for example, has a bright yellow tip on its tail to look like a worm. Boy, won’t the bird be surprised when it finds out it isn’t a worm that it bit! Desert living snakes will hide under the sand and wait for something yummy to wander by. The smallest of all snakes, the Thread snake, eats the pupae, or eggs, of ants and centipedes. The largest snakes, the Pythons and Anacondas, have been known to eat, deer and pigs! Most snakes live off of insects, rodents, birds, eggs, fish, frogs, lizards and small mammals. All snakes swallow their food whole. While they do have teeth, the teeth are made for grabbing, hooking and holding their prey, not chewing. Constrictors will grab and hold their prey while wrapping their bodies around the victim and slowly “constricting” or tightening their coils until they squeeze the last breath out of their prey and the heart stops. Cobras, Vipers, Rattlesnakes, and other venomous snakes will maim or paralyze their prey by sinking their fangs into it before swallowing it. Have you ever wondered how a snake can swallow such big meals without chewing? Snakes have powerful muscles all along the front half of their bodies. Snakes use these muscles for moving as well as swallowing. The muscles move the food down along the throat and into the snake’s long stomach. Moving the food through the throat into the stomach can take 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the animal they are eating. In egg-eating snakes the sharp rib bones will poke through the eggshell to help speed along digestion. Food in the snake’s stomach can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of months to breakup or digest. That is a long time to work on a meal! Believe it or not, some snakes only need to eat a couple times a year!
Snakes Fun Facts
"Open Wide!"
Snakes Fun Facts
מזל טובA BABY! Snakes will usually mate in spring ניסן אייר סיון, Right after hibernation ends in colder climates. In the tropics mating can happen any time of the year. Some snakes, such as boas, rattlesnakes and garter snakes, give birth to live young. That means that the baby snakes develop inside their mother. When they are born they are covered with a thin membrane, kind of like a goopy baggie. The baby uses an egg tooth to rip out of the membrane and wriggle free. Other snakes lay eggs in a safe, warm place like in a hollow log or buried in the ground. Snake eggs are not hard like chicken eggs; they are kind of leathery and can be torn by the baby snakes with their egg tooth. THE EGGS are not like the kosher birds one side wide and the other pointy
Figure 1 Snake eggs (see the shape)
Snakes Fun Facts
Figure 2 Kosher egg shape
Figure 3 Coral snake Figure 4 The Racer snake
The Racer and Coral snake will lay their eggs and then leaves and won’t return. When the babies hatch, a few weeks later, they will be on their own to hunt for food.
Snakes Fun Facts King Cobras and some Pythons will stay with their eggs, keeping them warm and safe until they hatch. This is called “brooding”.
Figure 5 Python
After hatching the snake babies are on their own. All snakes will lose their egg tooth shortly after hatching.
Snakes Fun Facts Snakes will reproduce, or give birth, once a year to every 3 years.
Figure 6 King Cobra
Photo Source: National Geographic Photo Gallery Photographer: Bruce Dale
Snakes Fun Facts
PREDATORS It is hard to believe but snakes have many enemies. Large birds, wild boars, mongooses, raccoons, foxes, coyotes and even other snakes are a few of the dangers snakes fall prey to.
Figure 7 Mangooses
Many people find it surprising that the largest and the scariest snakes can be afraid of anything, but it is true. While they are young they are easy prey to many birds and mammals but when they are older and larger they have humans to fear. Humans hunt snakes for various reasons. Many different breeds of snakes are captured and shipped to other countries to be sold in pet shops. Venomous snakes are used for making anti-venon, which is made from their venom and is used to save the life of a snakebite victim.
Snakes Fun Facts Snakeskin is used for making many things including shoes, purses and belts.
Figure 8 Snake skin belt
And, unfortunately, many people often kill snakes out of fear. One of the biggest threats to the snake population, the same as with many other animals, is the destruction of their habitats by humans. Their homes are being destroyed to make room for ranches, farms and highways. Snakes have many ways of protecting themselves. Their coloring alone is great camouflage and some snakes can burrow down under sand or leaves for extra coverage. S ome huff, puff and hiss loudly or shake their rattle tail to scare off a possible predator while others will flop over and hang their tongue out and play dead! Venomous snakes will try to escape or frighten off a hunter before ever trying to bite them.
Snakes Fun Facts
Rattlesnake Camoflauge
Rattlesnake Rattle
Snakes Fun Facts
PIT VIPERS There is a group of snakes that are known as Pit Vipers. Not only are these snakes venomous they also have a very 'cool' heat sensing system. This helps these snakes to find prey in the dark, which is when most snakes like to hunt. The ‘pit’ is a special organ in between the eyes and the nostrils. The pit senses body heat from animals and gives the snake a ‘picture’ of that animal. The snake can then attack it. Some pit vipers will bite and poison the prey and then release it. It will follow the dying animal, using its heat sensors, until it stops and the snake can swallow it. Most pit vipers hunt at night when the air is cooler and the heat from rodents and other prey is most obvious to them. The ‘heat picture’ from larger animals will tell the snake that a quick escape is a good idea, too! All rattlesnakes are Pit Vipers. Water Moccasins, Horned Desert Viper, Lance-head, Eyelash Viper, the Copperhead, and some Tree Boas are a few other examples of pit vipers.
Eyelash Viper
ANACONDA Anacondas make their home in the Amazon jungles of South America and are part of the Boa Constrictor family.
Snakes Fun Facts Anacondas live near rivers, lakes and swamps and like to live alone. Water is their main escape method when confronted with danger. Rather than attacking they will choose to slide into the water unnoticed, if possible. Anacondas eat amphibious animals, like frogs & toads, as well as fish, caiman, birds, ducks and turtles. The average size of one of these snake-giants is 6.1 m (20 feet) long and 148.5 kg. (300 pounds)! Anacondas give birth to live young, around 24-35 at a time. Anacondas are very difficult for scientists to study or even find. They are really quiet and leave no trail. They spend a lot of their time in the dark waters of their habitat.
Snakes Fun Facts
Figure 9 Anaconda babies
Snakes Fun Facts
BOA CONSTRICTOR Boa Constrictors are one of the largest snakes in the world, along with the Python and Anaconda. Boas are non-poisonous but just as deadly. They ambush their prey, which means that they will hide and wait for something yummy to go by and then do a surprise attack. They use their flicking tongue to pick up the scent. Just as their name suggests, they will coil their bodies around the prey and with each breath of the prey they will constrict, or squeeze, their coils just a little tighter until the animal can no longer breath. Their prey consists of birds, lizards, frogs and small mammals. Larger Boas will even eat monkeys, pigs or deer. Although they are not considered Pit Vipers, some Boas have heatsensitive scales around their mouths that help them find prey in the dark. These snakes live in hot, tropical places and can be found both on the ground and in trees. Boas give birth to live young, which means that they develop completely inside their mother. Once they are born they are on their own and know pretty much all they have to know about finding food and hiding. Boas are said to be the most beautifully colored of all snakes. Two Boa Constrictors
COBRA Cobras are famous for the threatening hood at their neck. They spread the hood out when they feel threatened or angry.
Snakes Fun Facts Their hood is made up of flaps of skin attached to long ribs. They are also able to lift their heads high up off the ground, which is not only kinda scary, but helps them to search for food. And just to make them a little scarier, they hiss loudly to scare off potential predators. There are 270 different types of Cobras and their relatives, including Taipans, Adders, Mambas, and many sea snakes including Kraits, and they all have short fangs and are all extremely poisonous. Cobras live in hot tropical areas in Africa, Australia, and Southern Asia and their relatives, the Coral Snake, can be found in the United States. They can be found underground, in trees, and under rocks. The King Cobra is not only an excellent climber but a super swimmer as well. They live in forests near streams. These snakes are hunters and will quietly follow their prey until they are ready to attack. They can move very fast and can speed along with their heads raised. Cobras are cannibals, which means that they will eat other snakes as well as birds, bird eggs and small mammals. Kraits feed almost totally on other snakes. Cobras lay eggs and will stick around to defend them until they hatch. Wild boars and mongooses will steal cobra eggs. A mongoose will often win fights with Cobras because of their speed and agility. They also have thick fur to protect them against the cobra’s fangs. The Spitting Cobra has a special talent. Can you guess what it is? That’s right, it can spit! The venom it spits out can spray more than 1.8 meters, or 6 feet. Unfortunately for the one being spit at, this snake has near perfect aim, and will fire straight into the eyes of its prey. Ouch!
Snakes Fun Facts
Albino Cobra
Snakes Fun Facts
GARTER SNAKES One of the most commonly known snakes in Canada is the garter snake. They can be found anywhere in Canada and central United States and come in quite a few different colors and markings. Garter snakes are usually about 60 to 80 cm (23-30 inches) long, but they have been known to grow up to 135 cm. Because Garter snakes live in colder temperatures they need to hibernate in winter. They will find shelter in cracks in the ground where the frost doesn’t reach. If you go searching for them you won’t find just one…there could be hundreds! Some snakes will travel as far as 32 km or 20 miles to reach their winter den in Manitoba, Canada. It is one of the largest ‘Garter’ gatherings in the world! The main foods of the Garter snake are earthworms, frogs, fish, leeches, tadpoles and sometimes mice. Because they are quite small, they do have a lot to fear. They are hunted and eaten by bears, raccoons, skunks and especially birds. Crows, magpie, hawks and owls can find them very easily from up in the sky. Garter snake babies are born live, usually 20 to 40 at a time. The largest number of babies born at one time is 98!
Photo Source: National Geographic Photo Gallery Photographer: Bates Littlehales
Snakes Fun Facts
PYTHONS The Python and the Anaconda are the world’s largest snakes. Pythons live near the equator, in Asia and Africa, where it is hot and wet and their huge bodies can stay warm. They make their homes in caves or in trees and have become used to living in cities and towns since people have been moving in on their territory. Being closer to people means that not only will the snakes hunt the livestock (pigs, goats, dogs, cats and chickens), it also means that they may attack people when feeling threatened, although this rarely happens. Speaking of feeling threatened, one of the biggest reasons that pythons are killed is for their large, beautiful skins. Some people actually like to wear snakeskin pants, vests, cowboy boots, and shoes! Pythons are constrictors, which means that they will ‘squeeze’ the life out of their prey. They coil themselves around their prey and with each breathe the creature takes the snake will squeeze a little tighter until they stop breathing completely. Once the heart stops the prey is swallowed whole. The entire animal is digested in the snake’s stomach except for fur or feathers. What do you think happens to the fur, feathers, beaks, and eggshells? The ‘extra stuff’ gets passed out as… you guessed it…snake POOP! Along with farm animals, pythons will feed on wild animals such as lizards, caiman (small alligator-like animals), monkeys and antelope. The larger the meal, the longer it takes to digest. This means that a python may only need to eat 4-5 times a year! The Green Tree Python is around 7 feet long and lives in…you guessed it...the trees! It waits in the leaves of the high forest branches and strikes out at birds as they fly by. Pythons lay eggs and will coil their bodies around the eggs to keep them warm and protect them until hatching.
Snakes Fun Facts
Green Tree Python
Snakes Fun Facts
RATTLESNAKES Rattlesnakes are best known for, and most easily recognized by, their rattle. The rattlesnake babies are born with what is called a pre-button. The baby snake loses this piece when it sheds its skin for the first time. With the shedding a new button appears. With every shedding after that another button, or rattle, will be added. These buttons are made up of a material called Keratin, which is what the scales and your fingernails are made of! The rattles are empty, so what makes the noise? The noise comes from each segment knocking together, so until a rattlesnake has two or more pieces it isn’t going to make a sound! But when it does…you WILL hear it…and you WILL RUN! Rattlesnakes are found in the southern parts of the United States, from the deserts to the mountains and grow between 3 and 4 feet (.9 to 1.2 m) long. There are 16 different types of Rattlers such as the Eastern Diamondback, Western Diamondback, Sidewinder and the Speckled, just to name a few. All of them have rattles, are venomous and are pit vipers. Rattlesnakes feed on rodents, squirrels, rabbits and other small critters. They hibernate through the winter and come out in the spring to eat and then mate. Rattlesnake eggs will stay inside their mother until they hatch. Most of the time there are 8-10 babies born at once and are about 10 inches long. Babies are born venomous but cannot rattle and are often more aggressive than the adults.
Photo Source: National Geographic Photo Gallery Photographer: Bates Littlehales
Snakes Fun Facts
SEA SNAKES AND WATER SNAKES Sea snakes seem pretty cool. Although all snakes can swim, sea snakes live mostly in the water. They do need to come up for air but can stay under water for up to an hour! Wow, try holding your breath that long! Since they need air regularly they are usually found in shallow waters of the Indian Ocean, and warmer areas of the Pacific Ocean. They eat fish, fish eggs and eels that they find under rocks and in reefs. There are about 30-50 different types of sea snakes and they belong to the Cobra family. The average Sea snake grows to about 2 meters long and has a smallish head for its body size. Their tails are flattened to make fast swimming possible and flaps over their nostrils close when they are underwater. Sea snakes are very poisonous. The most poisonous one is the Beaded Sea Snake. Just 3 drops of venom can kill about 8 people! Fortunately, these snakes have short fangs and they are unable to bite through diver’s suits very easily. They are not likely to bite unless threatened. Their other methods of defense include to spray a stinky, musky liquid or to poop. Eew! Eels are sometimes mistaken for Sea Snakes. Eels are part of the fish family and have gills for breathing. Sea snakes do not have gills but lungs instead and need to go to the surface for air. Sea Kraits are one of the few sea snakes that go to land to lay their eggs while most others, like the Olive sea snake will give birth in the water.
Photo Source: National Geographic Photo Gallery Photographer: Sam Abell
Snakes Fun Facts
SNAKE STORIES AND MYTHS All through history snakes have been both good and evil. Here are some historic examples: In the torah, the story of Adam and Chava being tempted by the evil snake. It was the snake (Satan) the tempted Chava with the forbidden fruit and caused them to be kicked out of the beautiful Garden of Eden. Also in the Torah, Moshe, who went to Egypt to convince the Pharaoh to release the Hebrew slaves, turned his staff (walking stick) into a snake to prove God’s power. Some African Cultures worshipped rock Pythons, making it into an avodah zara, and killing a python was a very serious crime. Many cultures believed that snakes had medicinal or healing powers. What about the stories of the snake charmers? Where the charmer plays the flute and the snake slowly comes out of a basket and sways to the music. Since snakes cannot hear sounds that aren’t vibrating on the ground, they can’t hear the flute music. The snake is actually following the motion of the flute and usually the charmer is swaying back and forth as well. The snakes that charmers use are tired out before hand so that they don’t attack the charmer.
Some common snake myths: •
The Death Adder has a sting in its tail.
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Snakes hypnotize their prey.
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Tiger Snakes chase people.
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Snakes milk cows.
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If you kill one of a pair of Tiger Snakes, its mate will hunt you down to take its revenge.
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In Australia, there is a Hoop Snake that takes its tail in its mouth and then goes bowling merrily along.
Snakes Fun Facts
DID YOU KNOW... •
Snake’s scales are made up of something called Keratin, which is the same thing that our fingernails are made from.
•
Adam HaRishon, before he sinned, had skin that was translucent like our finger nails, which incidentally, we remind ourselves of at Havdallah on Motzei Shabbat when we use the light of the fire to view our fingernails. Physical food and physical digestion were unnecessary, for Adam HaRishon, on his pre-sin level, received his life-sustaining Holy Sparks directly from HaShem through creation. Just like Moshe after he came down the mountain with his "glowing"
•
Furthermore, on such a level, becoming "one flesh" with one's wife was not physically impossible, but easy to do since the skin resembled light more than it did physical and obstructing flesh. Rashi's pshat of such human unification taking place only through the children is a post-sin consequence, and obviously has many shortcomings.
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Moreover, we see that the Jewish mystical tradition describes the union of a couple in marriage as the coming together of two half-souls. The physical union completes the expression of their total bond.
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This act of becoming “one flesh”, or “knowing” creates, on a small but physical scale, what will be in the end of days. One could say, crudely, that in the act of marriage, Adam was the delivery system for his seed, his memories. What we understand from this is that the essential part of Adam, of man, is that which is inside the woman.
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What Jews marry, the woman walks seven times around the man in order to make herself into his house.
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Mother Pythons will coil themselves around their eggs and make their bodies shiver in order to heat herself up and keep her eggs warm until they hatch.
•
Tanur shel achnai We learntnd this was the oven of 'Achnai.1 [
This refers to an oven, which, instead of being made in one piece, was made in a series of separate portions with a layer of sand between each. R. Eliezer maintains that since each portion in itself is not a utensil, the sand between prevents the whole structure from being regarded as a single utensil, and therefore it is not liable to uncleanness. The Sages however hold that the outer coating of mortar or cement unifies the whole, and it is therefore liable to uncleanness. (This is the explanation given by Maimonides on the Mishnah, Kel. V, 10. Rashi a.l. adopts a different reasoning). 'Aknai is a proper noun, probably the name of a master, but it also means 'snake'. ([G]) which meaning the Talmud proceeds to discuss.] Why [the oven of] 'Achnai? — Said Rab Judah in Samuel's name: [It means] that they encompassed it with arguments as a snake, and proved it unclean. It has been taught: On that day R. Eliezer brought forward every imaginable argument, but they did not accept them. Said he to them:
Snakes Fun Facts
•
'If the halachah agrees with me, let this carob-tree prove it!' Thereupon the carob-tree was torn a hundred cubits out of its place — others affirm, four hundred cubits. 'No proof can be brought from a carob-tree,' they retorted. Again he said to them:
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'If the halachah agrees with me, let the stream of water prove it!' Whereupon the stream of water flowed backwards — 'No proof can be brought from a stream of water,' they rejoined. Again he urged:
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'If the halachah agrees with me, let the walls of the schoolhouse prove it,' whereupon the walls inclined to fall. But R. Joshua rebuked them, saying: 'When scholars are engaged in a halachic dispute, what have ye to interfere?' Hence they did not fall, in honour of R. Joshua, nor did they resume the upright, in honour of R. Eliezer; and they are still standing thus inclined. Again he said to them:
•
'If the halachah agrees with me, let it be proved from Heaven!' Whereupon a Heavenly Voice cried out: 'Why do ye dispute with R. Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halachah agrees with him!' But R. Joshua arose and exclaimed: 'It is not in heaven. What did he mean by this? — Said R. Jeremiah: That the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai; we pay no attention to a Heavenly Voice, because Thou hast long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai, After the majority must one incline.5: If he cut it into separate tiles, placing sand between each tile: R. Eliezer declared it clean, and the Sages declared it unclean;
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The biggest snake is the Reticulated Python. It can grow up to 10.05 meters or 33 feet long! This is as tall as a giraffe.
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The thickest snake is the Anaconda. The biggest one found measured 111 centimeters or 44 inches around. That's huge!
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The Thread snake is the smallest snake. It is only about 10 centimeters (4 inches long) and the size of a toothpick.
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Vine snakes are remarkable because they appear to have binocular vision.
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Many Zookeepers believe that Cobras are faster learners than other snakes. They are able to tell the difference between their trainer and strangers.
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There was a plague in the desert which was caused by the complaining and bickering of the Jewish people. They were kvetching about the food, the heat, the constant moving that had to be done. After everything Hashem did for the Jewish people, this complaining made Hashem angry so he sent them a plague of poisonous snakes. Every step they took they had to make sure there was no snake in the grass. They went to sleep in horror- not knowing if they would get bitten in the middle of the night. If hard to find water was left out they wouldn’t drink it – maybe a snake injected some venom in the drink. Many people became sick, many died.
Snakes Fun Facts •
Moshe prayed to Hashem. Hashem instructed Moshe to make a Nachash Nechoshes, a copper snake, and put it on a flag pole. Everyone would look up at the caduceus. A caduceus (kerykeion in Greek) staff with two snakes wrapped around it.
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Today the caduceus (Kadusious) is a medical symbol associated with the Greek god Hermes. Of course the real origin is our Parsha. What was the meaning of a copper snake?
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This would be funny to watch! The Hognose, Grass snake and the Spitting Cobra will fake death when feeling threatened. They flip into their backs, open their mouths, and let their tongue flop out. And they will let out some smelly stuff from their anal gland. Nobody would want to eat it after that!
•
A reticulated python, named Colossus, was the largest snake that ever lived in a zoo. She lived at the Pittsburgh Zoo in Pennsylvania. Clifford Pope, the author of a book entitled “The Giant Snakes” reported that she was 22 feet long when she was captured in what is now Thailand in 1949. Eight years later she grew to 8.69 m (28 ½ feet) long. Her body was 69 cm (37 ½ inches) around and her weight was around 145 kg (320 pounds).
Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Shabbath Folio 110a DRINK ABUB RO'EH on shabbos. What is ABUB RO'EH? Humtarya [eupatorium]. What is humtarya? The lonely staff.22 What is it prepared for? [As a remedy for] one who drank uncovered water.23 If not,24 let him bring five roses and five glasses of strong liquor, boil them together until they amount to an anpak,25 and drink it. The mother of R. Ahadbuy b. Ammi prepared [a potion of] one rose and one glass of strong liquor for a certain man. She boiled them up, made him drink it, lit the stove and swept it out, placed bricks in it,26 and it [the poison of the snake] issued like a green palm-leaf. R. Awia said: A quarter [log] of milk from a white goat.27 R. Huna b. Judah said: Let him obtain a sweet citron, scoop it out, fill it with honey, set it on burning embers [to boil], and then eat it. R. Hanina said: [One drinks] urine forty days old28 [as a remedy]; a barzina29 for [the sting of] a wasp; a quarter [log] for a scorpion [bite]; an eighth [of a log] for uncovered water; a quarter is efficacious even against witchcraft. R. Johanan said: Elaiogaron,30 kangad,31 and theriac are efficacious against both uncovered water and witchcraft. If one swallows a snake, he should be made to eat cuscuta with salt and run three mils. R. Shimi b. Ashi saw a man swallow a snake; thereupon he appeared to him in the guise of a horseman,32 made him eat cuscuta with salt and run three mils before him, [and] it issued from him in strips.33 Others say: R. Shimi b. Ashi swallowed a snake, thereupon Elijah came,34 appeared to him in the guise of a horseman, made him eat cuscuta with salt and run three mils before him, [and] it issued from him in strips. If one is bitten by a snake, he should procure an embryo of a white ass, tear it open, and be made to sit upon it; providing. however, that it was not found to be terefah.
Snakes Fun Facts
Officer of Pumbeditha was bitten by a snake. Now there were thirteen white asses in Pumbeditha; they were all torn open and found to be terefah. There was another on the other side of Pumbeditha, [but] before they could go and bring it a lion devoured it. [Thereupon] Abaye observed to them. 'Perhaps he was bitten by a snake of the Rabbis,1 for which there is no cure, as it is written, and whoso breaketh through a fence,2 a serpent shall bite him?'3 'Indeed so, Rabbi,' answered they. For when Rab died, R. Isaac b. Bisna decreed that none should bring myrtles and palm-branches to a wedding feast to the' sound of a tabla,4 yet he went and brought myrtle and palm-branches at a wedding to the sound of the tabla; [so] a snake bit him and he died.
If a snake winds itself around a person, let him go down into water, put a basket over its head and force it [the snake] away from himself, and when it goes on to it [the basket], he should throw it into the water, ascend and make off. If a man is scented by a snake,5 if his companion is with him, he should make him ride four cubits.6 If not, let him jump a ditch.7 If not, let him cross a river; and at night place his bed on four barrels and sleep under the stars,8 and bring four cats and tie them to the four legs of the bed. Then he should fetch rubbish9 and throw it there, so that when they hear a sound they [the cats] will devour it. If a man is chased by one [a snake], he should flee into sandy places.10 If a woman sees a snake and does not know whether it has turned its attention to her or not, let her remove her garments and throw them in front of it; if it winds itself around them, its mind is upon her; if not, its mind is not upon her. What can she do? She should cohabit [with her husband] in front of it. Others say, That will even strengthen its instincts. Rather she should take some of her hair and nails and throw them at it and say, 'I am menstruous'. If a snake enters a woman, let her spread her legs and place them on two barrels; fat meat must be brought and cast on the burning coals; a basket of cress must be brought together with fragrant wine and placed there, and be well beaten together.11 They should take a pair of tongs in their hand, for when it smells the fragrance it will come out, so that it can be seized and burnt in the fire, as otherwise it will re-enter.
Pythons - Snakes Without Fangs • Not all snakes are poisonous. The largest snakes-pythons and boas-have no fangs, and do not depend on poison to kill their prey. Their size and strength give them a powerful enough weapon to obtain their food. Pythons and boas represent the two sub-families of the largest snakes in the world. Some of them grow to well over thirty feet in length. But not all boas and pythons are large snakes. The Rubber Boa, for example, a native of western North America, rarely reaches two feet in length.
Snakes Fun Facts
While boas are primarily inhabitants of the New World (though some species are found also in the Old) , pythons are all creatures of the Old World. They are found only in Asia, Africa, and Australia, with a single exception-the small Mexican python. Actually the differences between pythons and boas are rather small. They are all called constrictors, because they kill their prey by coiling themselves around their victim and squeezing it to death. This they do by "constricting" or tightening their coils around their prey until they literally squeeze the life out of it. Then they swallow their victim whole, usually head first. The Goliath of Snakes Scientists recognize nineteen species of pythons. The Reticulated or Regal Python holds the record for length. speci- mens twenty-eight feet long that weigh two hundred pounds are not uncommon. One Regal Python has been reported to have measured 32.8 feet-probably the record. This snake lives in southeastern Asia, the Malay Peninsula, and nearby islands, including the Philipines. The Indian Python, which ranges from India to southern China and Ceylon, is smaller, with a maximum size of twenty feet. A very close relative of the Indian Python is the Rock Python of Africa, with a maximum length that does not exceed eighteen feet. The largest snake in Australia is the Queensland Python, reputed to attain a length of twenty-one feet. What Pythons Eat Pythons, like boas, prey on small animals-small, that is, in proportion to their size. The largest snakes could devour a hundred-pound gazelle, or similar animal, but mostly they feed on smaller mammals. These snakes are mainly nighttime creatures, and most of them dwell in moist, green forests. The reticulated python spends most of its time in trees, where it suns itself and lies in wait for its food. Its diet consists of rodents, birds, small deer, wild hogs, and other animals. It has also been known to attack and devour humans on occasion. One that devoured a fourteen- year-oldboy in the Dutch East Indies was captured and killed two days later. But on the whole it is most exceptional for human beings to fall victim to pythons. The Indian python has an even more varied diet. It preys on toads, reptiles, fowls, water rats, barking deer, and hog deer. One has been observed killing a leopard over four feet long, which it
Snakes Fun Facts devoured afterward. Pythons and boas use their sense of smell, as well as of sight, to capture their prey. In addition, many pythons and some boas have "heat detectors" located in pits near the mouth, which are lined with spe:cial nerve endings that are sensitive to heat. These enable them to detect the presence of warm-blooded animals. Rare Green Tree Python One rare species of python lives only in New Guinea and in the extreme northern corner of Australia's Cape York Peninsula. The Green Tree Python is a striking creature, with emerald skin, bronze eyes, and yellow abdomen. The most remarkable aspect of the green tree python is its color transformation when young. At first it is generally bright yellow, or brown, but as it grows older the green color begins to show through until it turns green, with small white spots running from behind the eyes to the tip of the tail. Adult green tree pythons reach a maximum length of six feet, but three to four feet seems to be the average. The snake spends most of the time in treetops, where it coils neatly on a branch, its coloration merging with the foliage. It patiently waits for an unsus- pecting bird, lizard, or squirrel to approach within striking distance. Then it grabs the prey with needlelike teeth and throws several coils around it, squeezing the breath out of it. When the victim's struggles cease, the snake swal- lows it head first, like all constrictors. The female python lays about a dozen eggs. During the six weeks it takes the eggs to hatch, the snake remains coiled closely around the eggs, without food or water. The Snake in the Torah The snake (Nachash) is the first animal mentioned by name in Chumash. It is the sly, wily and mischievous creature that tempted Chavah (Eve) to eat of the forbidden fruit, in disobedience to G-d's command. Since then the snake has become the symbol of evil and temptation. As such it is identified with the Yetzer hara, the evil inclination that tempts a person to do bad things. The Yetzer hara is very cunning. It has various tricks to ensnare an unsuspecting victim. It might plant a bad thought in the mind, which works like a poison, in the manner of a poisonous snake. Or it might come with a "friendly embrace," in the manner of a "constrictor," which is equally dangerous. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word (Nechashim), meaning "chains" or "
Pythons - Snakes Without Fangs
Not all snakes are poisonous. The largest snakes-pythons and boas-have no fangs, and do not depend on poison to kill their prey. Their size and strength give them a powerful enough weapon to obtain their food. Pythons and boas represent the two sub-families of the largest snakes in the world. Some of
Snakes Fun Facts them grow to well over thirty feet in length. But not all boas and pythons are large snakes. The Rubber Boa, for example, a native of western North America, rarely reaches two feet in length.
While boas are primarily inhabitants of the New World (though some species are found also in the Old) , pythons are all creatures of the Old World. They are found only in Asia, Africa, and Australia, with a single exception-the small Mexican python. Actually the differences between pythons and boas are rather small. They are all called constrictors, because they kill their prey by coiling themselves around their victim and squeezing it to death. This they do by "constricting" or tightening their coils around their prey until they literally squeeze the life out of it. Then they swallow their victim whole, usually head first. The Goliath of Snakes Scientists recognize nineteen species of pythons. The Reticulated or Regal Python holds the record for length. speci- mens twenty-eight feet long that weigh two hundred pounds are not uncommon. One Regal Python has been reported to have measured 32.8 feet-probably the record. This snake lives in southeastern Asia, the Malay Peninsula, and nearby islands, including the Philipines. The Indian Python, which ranges from India to southern China and Ceylon, is smaller, with a maximum size of twenty feet. A very close relative of the Indian Python is the Rock Python of Africa, with a maximum length that does not exceed eighteen feet. The largest snake in Australia is the Queensland Python, reputed to attain a length of twenty-one feet. What Pythons Eat Pythons, like boas, prey on small animals-small, that is, in proportion to their size. The largest snakes could devour a hundred-pound gazelle, or similar animal, but mostly they feed on smaller mammals. These snakes are mainly nighttime creatures, and most of them dwell in moist, green forests. The reticulated python spends most of its time in trees, where it suns itself and lies in wait for its food. Its diet consists of rodents, birds, small deer, wild hogs, and other animals. It has also been known to attack and devour humans on occasion. One that devoured a fourteen- year-oldboy in the Dutch East Indies was captured and killed two days later. But on the whole it is most
Snakes Fun Facts exceptional for human beings to fall victim to pythons. The Indian python has an even more varied diet. It preys on toads, reptiles, fowls, water rats, barking deer, and hog deer. One has been observed killing a leopard over four feet long, which it devoured afterward. Pythons and boas use their sense of smell, as well as of sight, to capture their prey. In addition, many pythons and some boas have "heat detectors" located in pits near the mouth, which are lined with spe:cial nerve endings that are sensitive to heat. These enable them to detect the presence of warm-blooded animals. Rare Green Tree Python One rare species of python lives only in New Guinea and in the extreme northern corner of Australia's Cape York Peninsula. The Green Tree Python is a striking creature, with emerald skin, bronze eyes, and yellow abdomen. The most remarkable aspect of the green tree python is its color transformation when young. At first it is generally bright yellow, or brown, but as it grows older the green color begins to show through until it turns green, with small white spots running from behind the eyes to the tip of the tail. Adult green tree pythons reach a maximum length of six feet, but three to four feet seems to be the average. The snake spends most of the time in treetops, where it coils neatly on a branch, its coloration merging with the foliage. It patiently waits for an unsus- pecting bird, lizard, or squirrel to approach within striking distance. Then it grabs the prey with needlelike teeth and throws several coils around it, squeezing the breath out of it. When the victim's struggles cease, the snake swal- lows it head first, like all constrictors. The female python lays about a dozen eggs. During the six weeks it takes the eggs to hatch, the snake remains coiled closely around the eggs, without food or water. The Snake in the Torah The snake (Nachash) is the first animal mentioned by name in Chumash. It is the sly, wily and mischievous creature that tempted Chavah (Eve) to eat of the forbidden fruit, in disobedience to G-d's command. Since then the snake has become the symbol of evil and temptation. As such it is identified with the Yetzer hara, the evil inclination that tempts a person to do bad things. The Yetzer hara is very cunning. It has various tricks to ensnare an unsuspecting victim. It might plant a bad thought in the mind, which works like a poison, in the manner of a poisonous snake. Or it might come with a "friendly embrace," in the manner of a "constrictor," which is equally dangerous. Fetters in use
It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word (Nechashim), meaning "chains" or "fetters," is related to the word Nachash and its way of forming coils, like rings of a chain. Indeed, it was in such chains that the mighty Shimshon ended, when he allowed him- self to fall prey to the wily Delilah (Judges 16:21). Our Sages said wisely, "One cannot live with a snake in one basket." It is as dangerous to play with the Yetzer hara as it is to play with a snake, be it of the poisonous variety or a constrictor. The only thing to do is to give them both a wide, wide berth.
Snakes Fun Facts ," is related to the word Nachash and its way of forming coils, like rings of a chain. Indeed, it was in such chains that the mighty Shimshon ended, when he allowed him- self to fall prey to the wily Delilah (Judges 16:21). Our Sages said wisely, "One cannot live with a snake in one basket." It is as dangerous to play with the Yetzer hara as it is to play with a snake, be it of the poisonous variety or a con- strictor. The only thing to do is to give them both a wide, wide berth. •
Peek!
Snakes Fun Facts
SNAKES ARE REPTILES Snakes belong to the animal group called reptiles. This group also includes crocodiles, lizards, and turtles. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals that raise their body temperature by lying in the sun or lower it by crawling into the shade. Their body temperature changes to the temperature of its surroundings. Because of this, snakes that live in colder climates must hibernate through the winter. They will find burrows or caves and fall into a deep sleep until the weather warms up enough for them. There are more than 2,700 species of snakes in the world. They live almost everywhere, in deserts, forests, oceans, streams, and lakes. Snakes live on the ground, in trees, and in water. There are a few areas where snakes do not live. They cannot survive in places where the ground stays frozen all year around, such as in the high mountainous regions, above the Arctic Circle and Antarctica. Some islands, including Ireland and New Zealand, do not have snakes at all.
Rattlesnake entering its burrow.
SUIT OF ARMOR
Snakes Fun Facts Snakes bodies are covered with plates and scales. Without this protective armor snakes could not move over rough or hot surfaces like tree bark, rocks, and hot desert sand. Their scales are also nearly waterproof and help to keep the water out. Rough belly scales allow the snake to keep their grip on rough branches and to push off of surfaces when they need to move. Scales are made up of layers of cells stacked one on top of the other. The outer cells are dead and protect the living ones underneath them. A few times every year a snake will shed a layer of dead skin. The cells underneath are then ready to take over as the outer layer. When a snake is ready to shed it’s eyes get cloudy and it is temporarily blinded. Why? Because snakes eyes do not have eyelids (that’s why they don’t blink) but instead are covered with a clear scale called a spectacle. When a snake is ready to shed its old skin it will rub up against a rough surface, like a rock, to rip the skin and then slide right out. Just like taking off a sock!
Snake Scales
Snakes Fun Facts
BODY OF A SNAKE In case you were wondering (cause they are soooo flexible), snakes actually do have bones. Animals with bones are known as vertebrates -- snakes are vertebrates. A snake’s backbone is made up of many vertebrae attached to ribs. Humans have approximately 33 vertebrae and 24 ribs. Snakes have between 100-400 vertebrae with as many ribs attached! That is what makes them so flexible and helps them move along! All those bones and the strong muscles protect the internal organs. The throat of the snake takes up the front one-third of the body. It leads to a really long stomach, which, like the throat, will stretch to the size of whatever the snake is eating. Snakes also have two long lungs, a long liver, kidneys and intestines. The last quarter of the snake has a small anal opening (they have to GO OUT!) covered by a scale called the anal plate, and the rest is tail made up of more bone.
It's hard to believe snakes have bones when they can get this twisted up but they do!
HOW SNAKES MOVE
Snakes Fun Facts Snakes have four ways of moving around. Since they LOST THEIR legs they use their muscles and their scales to do the “walking”. 1. Concertina method: this is when snakes bunch themselves up and then throw themselves forward. 2. Serpentine method: This motion is what most people think of when they think of snakes. Snakes will push off of any bump or other surface, rocks, trees, etc., to get going. They move in a wavey motion. They wouldn’t be able to move over slick surfaces like glass at all. 3. Sidewinding: This method is similar to an inchworm’s movement. The snake will lift the middle of its body up and then push it down forcing its head to move forward. 4. Rectilinear Method: This is a slow, creeping, straight movement. The snake uses some of the wide scales on its belly to grip the ground while pushing forward with the others. Side winding
Snakes Fun Facts
JAWS! The jaws of the snakes are not fused together. That means that unlike our jaws, snakes jaws are not hooked up at the back of their mouths. This makes it possible for them to eat very big meals, bigger than their own heads! That would be like you swallowing a whole watermelon! If you had your mouth full of a watermelon, do you think you could breathe? Not likely! Snakes can. They have a little tube at the bottom of their mouth that comes out far enough to get air when the rest of their mouth is full.
Snakes Fun Facts
FANGS! Although most snakes have teeth, four rows on the top and two on the bottom, not all snakes have fangs. Only the poisonous ones do. Fangs are sharp, long, hollow teeth that are hooked up to small sacs in the snake’s head behind their eyes. These sacs produce poisonous liquid called venom סם הות. When a snake bites, venom is released and starts to work immediately to kill or paralyze the prey. For some snakes with really long fangs, the fangs will fold back into the mouth so they don’t bite themselves! When a snake loses or breaks a fang it will grow another. Since the poison will work almost immediately, some snakes will hold onto the animal, which is unlucky enough to be in its mouth, until it stops struggling and the snake can start to swallow it. Other snakes will bite and then release the animal so that it does not get hurt when the animal struggles and slowly dies. These snakes will use their flicking tongue to smell and follow the victim until it dies and can be eaten. Sea snakes are thought to be the most poisonous of all snakes. Other poisonous snakes include Adders, Cottonmouths, Rattlesnakes, copperheads, and Cobras. Spitting Cobras can spit venom up to 6 feet away! Yuk! In many countries, venomous snakes are caught and their venom is “milked” from their fangs by squeezing the venom sac and forcing the release of the poison. This venom is then used to create a medicine called antivenin that is used to save the lives of people bitten by snakes. Snakes will keep producing more venom for as long as they live. Cobra Snake
Snakes Fun Facts
IT MAKES 'SENSE' Snakes use their senses to hunt, escape danger, and to find a mate. Since snakes have very poor eyesight their other senses need to make up for it. Some snakes can smell with their noses but ALL snakes smell with their tongues. When a snake sticks out its tongue it smells its surroundings. The moist tongue collects scents and small organisms from whatever it touches and from the air around it. When the tongue goes back into the mouth the forks touch a special sensory spot called the Jacobson's organ on the roof of the mouth and tells the snake what it smells. Snakes have a small notch in their lips that they can stick their tongues through so they don’t need to open their mouths. Snakes can absorb vibrations through the ground and determine the size of the prey or danger by its movements.
In addition to taste and smell, most vertebrates use Jacobson's organ (also termed the vomeronasal organ and vomeronasal pit) to detect trace quantities of chemicals. While snakes and other reptiles flick substances into Jacobson's organ with their tongues, several mammals (e.g., cats) exhibit the Flehmen reaction. When 'Flehmening', an animal appears to sneer as it curls its upper lip to better expose the twin vomeronasal organs for chemical sensing. In mammals, Jacobson's organ is used not simply to identify minute quantities of chemicals, but also for subtle communication between other members of the same species, through the emission and reception of chemical signals called pheromones. In the 1800s, Danish physician L. Jacobson detected structures in a patient's nose that became termed 'Jacobson's organ' (although the organ was actually first reported in humans by F. Ruysch in 1703).
Snakes Fun Facts
"I smell you!"
Snakes Fun Facts
Mmm-YUMMY! Snakes are carnivores, which means they will eat only meat including each other. Some snakes are hunters while others will lie in waiting to ambush their prey. They can be very sneaky and will try to trick their victims into coming to them! The Cantil snake, for example, has a bright yellow tip on its tail to look like a worm. Boy, won’t the bird be surprised when it finds out it isn’t a worm that it bit! Desert living snakes will hide under the sand and wait for something yummy to wander by. The smallest of all snakes, the Thread snake, eats the pupae, or eggs, of ants and centipedes. The largest snakes, the Pythons and Anacondas, have been known to eat, deer and pigs! Most snakes live off of insects, rodents, birds, eggs, fish, frogs, lizards and small mammals. All snakes swallow their food whole. While they do have teeth, the teeth are made for grabbing, hooking and holding their prey, not chewing. Constrictors will grab and hold their prey while wrapping their bodies around the victim and slowly “constricting” or tightening their coils until they squeeze the last breath out of their prey and the heart stops. Cobras, Vipers, Rattlesnakes, and other venomous snakes will maim or paralyze their prey by sinking their fangs into it before swallowing it. Have you ever wondered how a snake can swallow such big meals without chewing? Snakes have powerful muscles all along the front half of their bodies. Snakes use these muscles for moving as well as swallowing. The muscles move the food down along the throat and into the snake’s long stomach. Moving the food through the throat into the stomach can take 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the animal they are eating. In egg-eating snakes the sharp rib bones will poke through the eggshell to help speed along digestion. Food in the snake’s stomach can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of months to breakup or digest. That is a long time to work on a meal! Believe it or not, some snakes only need to eat a couple times a year!
Snakes Fun Facts
"Open Wide!"
Snakes Fun Facts
מזל טובA BABY! Snakes will usually mate in spring ניסן אייר סיון, Right after hibernation ends in colder climates. In the tropics mating can happen any time of the year. Some snakes, such as boas, rattlesnakes and garter snakes, give birth to live young. That means that the baby snakes develop inside their mother. When they are born they are covered with a thin membrane, kind of like a goopy baggie. The baby uses an egg tooth to rip out of the membrane and wriggle free. Other snakes lay eggs in a safe, warm place like in a hollow log or buried in the ground. Snake eggs are not hard like chicken eggs; they are kind of leathery and can be torn by the baby snakes with their egg tooth. THE EGGS are not like the kosher birds one side wide and the other pointy
Figure 1 Snake eggs (see the shape)
Snakes Fun Facts
Figure 2 Kosher egg shape
Figure 3 Coral snake Figure 4 The Racer snake
The Racer and Coral snake will lay their eggs and then leaves and won’t return. When the babies hatch, a few weeks later, they will be on their own to hunt for food.
Snakes Fun Facts King Cobras and some Pythons will stay with their eggs, keeping them warm and safe until they hatch. This is called “brooding”.
Figure 5 Python
After hatching the snake babies are on their own. All snakes will lose their egg tooth shortly after hatching.
Snakes Fun Facts Snakes will reproduce, or give birth, once a year to every 3 years.
Figure 6 King Cobra
Photo Source: National Geographic Photo Gallery Photographer: Bruce Dale
Snakes Fun Facts
PREDATORS It is hard to believe but snakes have many enemies. Large birds, wild boars, mongooses, raccoons, foxes, coyotes and even other snakes are a few of the dangers snakes fall prey to.
Figure 7 Mangooses
Many people find it surprising that the largest and the scariest snakes can be afraid of anything, but it is true. While they are young they are easy prey to many birds and mammals but when they are older and larger they have humans to fear. Humans hunt snakes for various reasons. Many different breeds of snakes are captured and shipped to other countries to be sold in pet shops. Venomous snakes are used for making anti-venon, which is made from their venom and is used to save the life of a snakebite victim.
Snakes Fun Facts Snakeskin is used for making many things including shoes, purses and belts.
Figure 8 Snake skin belt
And, unfortunately, many people often kill snakes out of fear. One of the biggest threats to the snake population, the same as with many other animals, is the destruction of their habitats by humans. Their homes are being destroyed to make room for ranches, farms and highways. Snakes have many ways of protecting themselves. Their coloring alone is great camouflage and some snakes can burrow down under sand or leaves for extra coverage. S ome huff, puff and hiss loudly or shake their rattle tail to scare off a possible predator while others will flop over and hang their tongue out and play dead! Venomous snakes will try to escape or frighten off a hunter before ever trying to bite them.
Snakes Fun Facts
Rattlesnake Camoflauge
Rattlesnake Rattle
Snakes Fun Facts
PIT VIPERS There is a group of snakes that are known as Pit Vipers. Not only are these snakes venomous they also have a very 'cool' heat sensing system. This helps these snakes to find prey in the dark, which is when most snakes like to hunt. The ‘pit’ is a special organ in between the eyes and the nostrils. The pit senses body heat from animals and gives the snake a ‘picture’ of that animal. The snake can then attack it. Some pit vipers will bite and poison the prey and then release it. It will follow the dying animal, using its heat sensors, until it stops and the snake can swallow it. Most pit vipers hunt at night when the air is cooler and the heat from rodents and other prey is most obvious to them. The ‘heat picture’ from larger animals will tell the snake that a quick escape is a good idea, too! All rattlesnakes are Pit Vipers. Water Moccasins, Horned Desert Viper, Lance-head, Eyelash Viper, the Copperhead, and some Tree Boas are a few other examples of pit vipers.
Eyelash Viper
ANACONDA Anacondas make their home in the Amazon jungles of South America and are part of the Boa Constrictor family.
Snakes Fun Facts Anacondas live near rivers, lakes and swamps and like to live alone. Water is their main escape method when confronted with danger. Rather than attacking they will choose to slide into the water unnoticed, if possible. Anacondas eat amphibious animals, like frogs & toads, as well as fish, caiman, birds, ducks and turtles. The average size of one of these snake-giants is 6.1 m (20 feet) long and 148.5 kg. (300 pounds)! Anacondas give birth to live young, around 24-35 at a time. Anacondas are very difficult for scientists to study or even find. They are really quiet and leave no trail. They spend a lot of their time in the dark waters of their habitat.
Snakes Fun Facts
Figure 9 Anaconda babies
Snakes Fun Facts
BOA CONSTRICTOR Boa Constrictors are one of the largest snakes in the world, along with the Python and Anaconda. Boas are non-poisonous but just as deadly. They ambush their prey, which means that they will hide and wait for something yummy to go by and then do a surprise attack. They use their flicking tongue to pick up the scent. Just as their name suggests, they will coil their bodies around the prey and with each breath of the prey they will constrict, or squeeze, their coils just a little tighter until the animal can no longer breath. Their prey consists of birds, lizards, frogs and small mammals. Larger Boas will even eat monkeys, pigs or deer. Although they are not considered Pit Vipers, some Boas have heatsensitive scales around their mouths that help them find prey in the dark. These snakes live in hot, tropical places and can be found both on the ground and in trees. Boas give birth to live young, which means that they develop completely inside their mother. Once they are born they are on their own and know pretty much all they have to know about finding food and hiding. Boas are said to be the most beautifully colored of all snakes. Two Boa Constrictors
COBRA Cobras are famous for the threatening hood at their neck. They spread the hood out when they feel threatened or angry.
Snakes Fun Facts Their hood is made up of flaps of skin attached to long ribs. They are also able to lift their heads high up off the ground, which is not only kinda scary, but helps them to search for food. And just to make them a little scarier, they hiss loudly to scare off potential predators. There are 270 different types of Cobras and their relatives, including Taipans, Adders, Mambas, and many sea snakes including Kraits, and they all have short fangs and are all extremely poisonous. Cobras live in hot tropical areas in Africa, Australia, and Southern Asia and their relatives, the Coral Snake, can be found in the United States. They can be found underground, in trees, and under rocks. The King Cobra is not only an excellent climber but a super swimmer as well. They live in forests near streams. These snakes are hunters and will quietly follow their prey until they are ready to attack. They can move very fast and can speed along with their heads raised. Cobras are cannibals, which means that they will eat other snakes as well as birds, bird eggs and small mammals. Kraits feed almost totally on other snakes. Cobras lay eggs and will stick around to defend them until they hatch. Wild boars and mongooses will steal cobra eggs. A mongoose will often win fights with Cobras because of their speed and agility. They also have thick fur to protect them against the cobra’s fangs. The Spitting Cobra has a special talent. Can you guess what it is? That’s right, it can spit! The venom it spits out can spray more than 1.8 meters, or 6 feet. Unfortunately for the one being spit at, this snake has near perfect aim, and will fire straight into the eyes of its prey. Ouch!
Snakes Fun Facts
Albino Cobra
Snakes Fun Facts
GARTER SNAKES One of the most commonly known snakes in Canada is the garter snake. They can be found anywhere in Canada and central United States and come in quite a few different colors and markings. Garter snakes are usually about 60 to 80 cm (23-30 inches) long, but they have been known to grow up to 135 cm. Because Garter snakes live in colder temperatures they need to hibernate in winter. They will find shelter in cracks in the ground where the frost doesn’t reach. If you go searching for them you won’t find just one…there could be hundreds! Some snakes will travel as far as 32 km or 20 miles to reach their winter den in Manitoba, Canada. It is one of the largest ‘Garter’ gatherings in the world! The main foods of the Garter snake are earthworms, frogs, fish, leeches, tadpoles and sometimes mice. Because they are quite small, they do have a lot to fear. They are hunted and eaten by bears, raccoons, skunks and especially birds. Crows, magpie, hawks and owls can find them very easily from up in the sky. Garter snake babies are born live, usually 20 to 40 at a time. The largest number of babies born at one time is 98!
Photo Source: National Geographic Photo Gallery Photographer: Bates Littlehales
Snakes Fun Facts
PYTHONS The Python and the Anaconda are the world’s largest snakes. Pythons live near the equator, in Asia and Africa, where it is hot and wet and their huge bodies can stay warm. They make their homes in caves or in trees and have become used to living in cities and towns since people have been moving in on their territory. Being closer to people means that not only will the snakes hunt the livestock (pigs, goats, dogs, cats and chickens), it also means that they may attack people when feeling threatened, although this rarely happens. Speaking of feeling threatened, one of the biggest reasons that pythons are killed is for their large, beautiful skins. Some people actually like to wear snakeskin pants, vests, cowboy boots, and shoes! Pythons are constrictors, which means that they will ‘squeeze’ the life out of their prey. They coil themselves around their prey and with each breathe the creature takes the snake will squeeze a little tighter until they stop breathing completely. Once the heart stops the prey is swallowed whole. The entire animal is digested in the snake’s stomach except for fur or feathers. What do you think happens to the fur, feathers, beaks, and eggshells? The ‘extra stuff’ gets passed out as… you guessed it…snake POOP! Along with farm animals, pythons will feed on wild animals such as lizards, caiman (small alligator-like animals), monkeys and antelope. The larger the meal, the longer it takes to digest. This means that a python may only need to eat 4-5 times a year! The Green Tree Python is around 7 feet long and lives in…you guessed it...the trees! It waits in the leaves of the high forest branches and strikes out at birds as they fly by. Pythons lay eggs and will coil their bodies around the eggs to keep them warm and protect them until hatching.
Snakes Fun Facts
Green Tree Python
Snakes Fun Facts
RATTLESNAKES Rattlesnakes are best known for, and most easily recognized by, their rattle. The rattlesnake babies are born with what is called a pre-button. The baby snake loses this piece when it sheds its skin for the first time. With the shedding a new button appears. With every shedding after that another button, or rattle, will be added. These buttons are made up of a material called Keratin, which is what the scales and your fingernails are made of! The rattles are empty, so what makes the noise? The noise comes from each segment knocking together, so until a rattlesnake has two or more pieces it isn’t going to make a sound! But when it does…you WILL hear it…and you WILL RUN! Rattlesnakes are found in the southern parts of the United States, from the deserts to the mountains and grow between 3 and 4 feet (.9 to 1.2 m) long. There are 16 different types of Rattlers such as the Eastern Diamondback, Western Diamondback, Sidewinder and the Speckled, just to name a few. All of them have rattles, are venomous and are pit vipers. Rattlesnakes feed on rodents, squirrels, rabbits and other small critters. They hibernate through the winter and come out in the spring to eat and then mate. Rattlesnake eggs will stay inside their mother until they hatch. Most of the time there are 8-10 babies born at once and are about 10 inches long. Babies are born venomous but cannot rattle and are often more aggressive than the adults.
Photo Source: National Geographic Photo Gallery Photographer: Bates Littlehales
Snakes Fun Facts
SEA SNAKES AND WATER SNAKES Sea snakes seem pretty cool. Although all snakes can swim, sea snakes live mostly in the water. They do need to come up for air but can stay under water for up to an hour! Wow, try holding your breath that long! Since they need air regularly they are usually found in shallow waters of the Indian Ocean, and warmer areas of the Pacific Ocean. They eat fish, fish eggs and eels that they find under rocks and in reefs. There are about 30-50 different types of sea snakes and they belong to the Cobra family. The average Sea snake grows to about 2 meters long and has a smallish head for its body size. Their tails are flattened to make fast swimming possible and flaps over their nostrils close when they are underwater. Sea snakes are very poisonous. The most poisonous one is the Beaded Sea Snake. Just 3 drops of venom can kill about 8 people! Fortunately, these snakes have short fangs and they are unable to bite through diver’s suits very easily. They are not likely to bite unless threatened. Their other methods of defense include to spray a stinky, musky liquid or to poop. Eew! Eels are sometimes mistaken for Sea Snakes. Eels are part of the fish family and have gills for breathing. Sea snakes do not have gills but lungs instead and need to go to the surface for air. Sea Kraits are one of the few sea snakes that go to land to lay their eggs while most others, like the Olive sea snake will give birth in the water.
Photo Source: National Geographic Photo Gallery Photographer: Sam Abell
Snakes Fun Facts
SNAKE STORIES AND MYTHS All through history snakes have been both good and evil. Here are some historic examples: In the torah, the story of Adam and Chava being tempted by the evil snake. It was the snake (Satan) the tempted Chava with the forbidden fruit and caused them to be kicked out of the beautiful Garden of Eden. Also in the Torah, Moshe, who went to Egypt to convince the Pharaoh to release the Hebrew slaves, turned his staff (walking stick) into a snake to prove God’s power. Some African Cultures worshipped rock Pythons, making it into an avodah zara, and killing a python was a very serious crime. Many cultures believed that snakes had medicinal or healing powers. What about the stories of the snake charmers? Where the charmer plays the flute and the snake slowly comes out of a basket and sways to the music. Since snakes cannot hear sounds that aren’t vibrating on the ground, they can’t hear the flute music. The snake is actually following the motion of the flute and usually the charmer is swaying back and forth as well. The snakes that charmers use are tired out before hand so that they don’t attack the charmer.
Some common snake myths: •
The Death Adder has a sting in its tail.
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Snakes hypnotize their prey.
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Tiger Snakes chase people.
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Snakes milk cows.
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If you kill one of a pair of Tiger Snakes, its mate will hunt you down to take its revenge.
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In Australia, there is a Hoop Snake that takes its tail in its mouth and then goes bowling merrily along.
Snakes Fun Facts
DID YOU KNOW... •
Snake’s scales are made up of something called Keratin, which is the same thing that our fingernails are made from.
•
Adam HaRishon, before he sinned, had skin that was translucent like our finger nails, which incidentally, we remind ourselves of at Havdallah on Motzei Shabbat when we use the light of the fire to view our fingernails. Physical food and physical digestion were unnecessary, for Adam HaRishon, on his pre-sin level, received his life-sustaining Holy Sparks directly from HaShem through creation. Just like Moshe after he came down the mountain with his "glowing"
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Furthermore, on such a level, becoming "one flesh" with one's wife was not physically impossible, but easy to do since the skin resembled light more than it did physical and obstructing flesh. Rashi's pshat of such human unification taking place only through the children is a post-sin consequence, and obviously has many shortcomings.
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Moreover, we see that the Jewish mystical tradition describes the union of a couple in marriage as the coming together of two half-souls. The physical union completes the expression of their total bond.
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This act of becoming “one flesh”, or “knowing” creates, on a small but physical scale, what will be in the end of days. One could say, crudely, that in the act of marriage, Adam was the delivery system for his seed, his memories. What we understand from this is that the essential part of Adam, of man, is that which is inside the woman.
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What Jews marry, the woman walks seven times around the man in order to make herself into his house.
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Mother Pythons will coil themselves around their eggs and make their bodies shiver in order to heat herself up and keep her eggs warm until they hatch.
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Tanur shel achnai We learntnd this was the oven of 'Achnai.1 [
This refers to an oven, which, instead of being made in one piece, was made in a series of separate portions with a layer of sand between each. R. Eliezer maintains that since each portion in itself is not a utensil, the sand between prevents the whole structure from being regarded as a single utensil, and therefore it is not liable to uncleanness. The Sages however hold that the outer coating of mortar or cement unifies the whole, and it is therefore liable to uncleanness. (This is the explanation given by Maimonides on the Mishnah, Kel. V, 10. Rashi a.l. adopts a different reasoning). 'Aknai is a proper noun, probably the name of a master, but it also means 'snake'. ([G]) which meaning the Talmud proceeds to discuss.] Why [the oven of] 'Achnai? — Said Rab Judah in Samuel's name: [It means] that they encompassed it with arguments as a snake, and proved it unclean. It has been taught: On that day R. Eliezer brought forward every imaginable argument, but they did not accept them. Said he to them:
Snakes Fun Facts
•
'If the halachah agrees with me, let this carob-tree prove it!' Thereupon the carob-tree was torn a hundred cubits out of its place — others affirm, four hundred cubits. 'No proof can be brought from a carob-tree,' they retorted. Again he said to them:
•
'If the halachah agrees with me, let the stream of water prove it!' Whereupon the stream of water flowed backwards — 'No proof can be brought from a stream of water,' they rejoined. Again he urged:
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'If the halachah agrees with me, let the walls of the schoolhouse prove it,' whereupon the walls inclined to fall. But R. Joshua rebuked them, saying: 'When scholars are engaged in a halachic dispute, what have ye to interfere?' Hence they did not fall, in honour of R. Joshua, nor did they resume the upright, in honour of R. Eliezer; and they are still standing thus inclined. Again he said to them:
•
'If the halachah agrees with me, let it be proved from Heaven!' Whereupon a Heavenly Voice cried out: 'Why do ye dispute with R. Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halachah agrees with him!' But R. Joshua arose and exclaimed: 'It is not in heaven. What did he mean by this? — Said R. Jeremiah: That the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai; we pay no attention to a Heavenly Voice, because Thou hast long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai, After the majority must one incline.5: If he cut it into separate tiles, placing sand between each tile: R. Eliezer declared it clean, and the Sages declared it unclean;
•
The biggest snake is the Reticulated Python. It can grow up to 10.05 meters or 33 feet long! This is as tall as a giraffe.
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The thickest snake is the Anaconda. The biggest one found measured 111 centimeters or 44 inches around. That's huge!
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The Thread snake is the smallest snake. It is only about 10 centimeters (4 inches long) and the size of a toothpick.
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Vine snakes are remarkable because they appear to have binocular vision.
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Many Zookeepers believe that Cobras are faster learners than other snakes. They are able to tell the difference between their trainer and strangers.
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There was a plague in the desert which was caused by the complaining and bickering of the Jewish people. They were kvetching about the food, the heat, the constant moving that had to be done. After everything Hashem did for the Jewish people, this complaining made Hashem angry so he sent them a plague of poisonous snakes. Every step they took they had to make sure there was no snake in the grass. They went to sleep in horror- not knowing if they would get bitten in the middle of the night. If hard to find water was left out they wouldn’t drink it – maybe a snake injected some venom in the drink. Many people became sick, many died.
Snakes Fun Facts •
Moshe prayed to Hashem. Hashem instructed Moshe to make a Nachash Nechoshes, a copper snake, and put it on a flag pole. Everyone would look up at the caduceus. A caduceus (kerykeion in Greek) staff with two snakes wrapped around it.
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Today the caduceus (Kadusious) is a medical symbol associated with the Greek god Hermes. Of course the real origin is our Parsha. What was the meaning of a copper snake?
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This would be funny to watch! The Hognose, Grass snake and the Spitting Cobra will fake death when feeling threatened. They flip into their backs, open their mouths, and let their tongue flop out. And they will let out some smelly stuff from their anal gland. Nobody would want to eat it after that!
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A reticulated python, named Colossus, was the largest snake that ever lived in a zoo. She lived at the Pittsburgh Zoo in Pennsylvania. Clifford Pope, the author of a book entitled “The Giant Snakes” reported that she was 22 feet long when she was captured in what is now Thailand in 1949. Eight years later she grew to 8.69 m (28 ½ feet) long. Her body was 69 cm (37 ½ inches) around and her weight was around 145 kg (320 pounds).
Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Shabbath Folio 110a DRINK ABUB RO'EH on shabbos. What is ABUB RO'EH? Humtarya [eupatorium]. What is humtarya? The lonely staff.22 What is it prepared for? [As a remedy for] one who drank uncovered water.23 If not,24 let him bring five roses and five glasses of strong liquor, boil them together until they amount to an anpak,25 and drink it. The mother of R. Ahadbuy b. Ammi prepared [a potion of] one rose and one glass of strong liquor for a certain man. She boiled them up, made him drink it, lit the stove and swept it out, placed bricks in it,26 and it [the poison of the snake] issued like a green palm-leaf. R. Awia said: A quarter [log] of milk from a white goat.27 R. Huna b. Judah said: Let him obtain a sweet citron, scoop it out, fill it with honey, set it on burning embers [to boil], and then eat it. R. Hanina said: [One drinks] urine forty days old28 [as a remedy]; a barzina29 for [the sting of] a wasp; a quarter [log] for a scorpion [bite]; an eighth [of a log] for uncovered water; a quarter is efficacious even against witchcraft. R. Johanan said: Elaiogaron,30 kangad,31 and theriac are efficacious against both uncovered water and witchcraft. If one swallows a snake, he should be made to eat cuscuta with salt and run three mils. R. Shimi b. Ashi saw a man swallow a snake; thereupon he appeared to him in the guise of a horseman,32 made him eat cuscuta with salt and run three mils before him, [and] it issued from him in strips.33 Others say: R. Shimi b. Ashi swallowed a snake, thereupon Elijah came,34 appeared to him in the guise of a horseman, made him eat cuscuta with salt and run three mils before him, [and] it issued from him in strips. If one is bitten by a snake, he should procure an embryo of a white ass, tear it open, and be made to sit upon it; providing. however, that it was not found to be terefah.
Snakes Fun Facts
Officer of Pumbeditha was bitten by a snake. Now there were thirteen white asses in Pumbeditha; they were all torn open and found to be terefah. There was another on the other side of Pumbeditha, [but] before they could go and bring it a lion devoured it. [Thereupon] Abaye observed to them. 'Perhaps he was bitten by a snake of the Rabbis,1 for which there is no cure, as it is written, and whoso breaketh through a fence,2 a serpent shall bite him?'3 'Indeed so, Rabbi,' answered they. For when Rab died, R. Isaac b. Bisna decreed that none should bring myrtles and palm-branches to a wedding feast to the' sound of a tabla,4 yet he went and brought myrtle and palm-branches at a wedding to the sound of the tabla; [so] a snake bit him and he died.
If a snake winds itself around a person, let him go down into water, put a basket over its head and force it [the snake] away from himself, and when it goes on to it [the basket], he should throw it into the water, ascend and make off. If a man is scented by a snake,5 if his companion is with him, he should make him ride four cubits.6 If not, let him jump a ditch.7 If not, let him cross a river; and at night place his bed on four barrels and sleep under the stars,8 and bring four cats and tie them to the four legs of the bed. Then he should fetch rubbish9 and throw it there, so that when they hear a sound they [the cats] will devour it. If a man is chased by one [a snake], he should flee into sandy places.10 If a woman sees a snake and does not know whether it has turned its attention to her or not, let her remove her garments and throw them in front of it; if it winds itself around them, its mind is upon her; if not, its mind is not upon her. What can she do? She should cohabit [with her husband] in front of it. Others say, That will even strengthen its instincts. Rather she should take some of her hair and nails and throw them at it and say, 'I am menstruous'. If a snake enters a woman, let her spread her legs and place them on two barrels; fat meat must be brought and cast on the burning coals; a basket of cress must be brought together with fragrant wine and placed there, and be well beaten together.11 They should take a pair of tongs in their hand, for when it smells the fragrance it will come out, so that it can be seized and burnt in the fire, as otherwise it will re-enter.
Pythons - Snakes Without Fangs • Not all snakes are poisonous. The largest snakes-pythons and boas-have no fangs, and do not depend on poison to kill their prey. Their size and strength give them a powerful enough weapon to obtain their food. Pythons and boas represent the two sub-families of the largest snakes in the world. Some of them grow to well over thirty feet in length. But not all boas and pythons are large snakes. The Rubber Boa, for example, a native of western North America, rarely reaches two feet in length.
Snakes Fun Facts
While boas are primarily inhabitants of the New World (though some species are found also in the Old) , pythons are all creatures of the Old World. They are found only in Asia, Africa, and Australia, with a single exception-the small Mexican python. Actually the differences between pythons and boas are rather small. They are all called constrictors, because they kill their prey by coiling themselves around their victim and squeezing it to death. This they do by "constricting" or tightening their coils around their prey until they literally squeeze the life out of it. Then they swallow their victim whole, usually head first. The Goliath of Snakes Scientists recognize nineteen species of pythons. The Reticulated or Regal Python holds the record for length. speci- mens twenty-eight feet long that weigh two hundred pounds are not uncommon. One Regal Python has been reported to have measured 32.8 feet-probably the record. This snake lives in southeastern Asia, the Malay Peninsula, and nearby islands, including the Philipines. The Indian Python, which ranges from India to southern China and Ceylon, is smaller, with a maximum size of twenty feet. A very close relative of the Indian Python is the Rock Python of Africa, with a maximum length that does not exceed eighteen feet. The largest snake in Australia is the Queensland Python, reputed to attain a length of twenty-one feet. What Pythons Eat Pythons, like boas, prey on small animals-small, that is, in proportion to their size. The largest snakes could devour a hundred-pound gazelle, or similar animal, but mostly they feed on smaller mammals. These snakes are mainly nighttime creatures, and most of them dwell in moist, green forests. The reticulated python spends most of its time in trees, where it suns itself and lies in wait for its food. Its diet consists of rodents, birds, small deer, wild hogs, and other animals. It has also been known to attack and devour humans on occasion. One that devoured a fourteen- year-oldboy in the Dutch East Indies was captured and killed two days later. But on the whole it is most exceptional for human beings to fall victim to pythons. The Indian python has an even more varied diet. It preys on toads, reptiles, fowls, water rats, barking deer, and hog deer. One has been observed killing a leopard over four feet long, which it
Snakes Fun Facts devoured afterward. Pythons and boas use their sense of smell, as well as of sight, to capture their prey. In addition, many pythons and some boas have "heat detectors" located in pits near the mouth, which are lined with spe:cial nerve endings that are sensitive to heat. These enable them to detect the presence of warm-blooded animals. Rare Green Tree Python One rare species of python lives only in New Guinea and in the extreme northern corner of Australia's Cape York Peninsula. The Green Tree Python is a striking creature, with emerald skin, bronze eyes, and yellow abdomen. The most remarkable aspect of the green tree python is its color transformation when young. At first it is generally bright yellow, or brown, but as it grows older the green color begins to show through until it turns green, with small white spots running from behind the eyes to the tip of the tail. Adult green tree pythons reach a maximum length of six feet, but three to four feet seems to be the average. The snake spends most of the time in treetops, where it coils neatly on a branch, its coloration merging with the foliage. It patiently waits for an unsus- pecting bird, lizard, or squirrel to approach within striking distance. Then it grabs the prey with needlelike teeth and throws several coils around it, squeezing the breath out of it. When the victim's struggles cease, the snake swal- lows it head first, like all constrictors. The female python lays about a dozen eggs. During the six weeks it takes the eggs to hatch, the snake remains coiled closely around the eggs, without food or water. The Snake in the Torah The snake (Nachash) is the first animal mentioned by name in Chumash. It is the sly, wily and mischievous creature that tempted Chavah (Eve) to eat of the forbidden fruit, in disobedience to G-d's command. Since then the snake has become the symbol of evil and temptation. As such it is identified with the Yetzer hara, the evil inclination that tempts a person to do bad things. The Yetzer hara is very cunning. It has various tricks to ensnare an unsuspecting victim. It might plant a bad thought in the mind, which works like a poison, in the manner of a poisonous snake. Or it might come with a "friendly embrace," in the manner of a "constrictor," which is equally dangerous. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word (Nechashim), meaning "chains" or "
Pythons - Snakes Without Fangs
Not all snakes are poisonous. The largest snakes-pythons and boas-have no fangs, and do not depend on poison to kill their prey. Their size and strength give them a powerful enough weapon to obtain their food. Pythons and boas represent the two sub-families of the largest snakes in the world. Some of
Snakes Fun Facts them grow to well over thirty feet in length. But not all boas and pythons are large snakes. The Rubber Boa, for example, a native of western North America, rarely reaches two feet in length.
While boas are primarily inhabitants of the New World (though some species are found also in the Old) , pythons are all creatures of the Old World. They are found only in Asia, Africa, and Australia, with a single exception-the small Mexican python. Actually the differences between pythons and boas are rather small. They are all called constrictors, because they kill their prey by coiling themselves around their victim and squeezing it to death. This they do by "constricting" or tightening their coils around their prey until they literally squeeze the life out of it. Then they swallow their victim whole, usually head first. The Goliath of Snakes Scientists recognize nineteen species of pythons. The Reticulated or Regal Python holds the record for length. speci- mens twenty-eight feet long that weigh two hundred pounds are not uncommon. One Regal Python has been reported to have measured 32.8 feet-probably the record. This snake lives in southeastern Asia, the Malay Peninsula, and nearby islands, including the Philipines. The Indian Python, which ranges from India to southern China and Ceylon, is smaller, with a maximum size of twenty feet. A very close relative of the Indian Python is the Rock Python of Africa, with a maximum length that does not exceed eighteen feet. The largest snake in Australia is the Queensland Python, reputed to attain a length of twenty-one feet. What Pythons Eat Pythons, like boas, prey on small animals-small, that is, in proportion to their size. The largest snakes could devour a hundred-pound gazelle, or similar animal, but mostly they feed on smaller mammals. These snakes are mainly nighttime creatures, and most of them dwell in moist, green forests. The reticulated python spends most of its time in trees, where it suns itself and lies in wait for its food. Its diet consists of rodents, birds, small deer, wild hogs, and other animals. It has also been known to attack and devour humans on occasion. One that devoured a fourteen- year-oldboy in the Dutch East Indies was captured and killed two days later. But on the whole it is most
Snakes Fun Facts exceptional for human beings to fall victim to pythons. The Indian python has an even more varied diet. It preys on toads, reptiles, fowls, water rats, barking deer, and hog deer. One has been observed killing a leopard over four feet long, which it devoured afterward. Pythons and boas use their sense of smell, as well as of sight, to capture their prey. In addition, many pythons and some boas have "heat detectors" located in pits near the mouth, which are lined with spe:cial nerve endings that are sensitive to heat. These enable them to detect the presence of warm-blooded animals. Rare Green Tree Python One rare species of python lives only in New Guinea and in the extreme northern corner of Australia's Cape York Peninsula. The Green Tree Python is a striking creature, with emerald skin, bronze eyes, and yellow abdomen. The most remarkable aspect of the green tree python is its color transformation when young. At first it is generally bright yellow, or brown, but as it grows older the green color begins to show through until it turns green, with small white spots running from behind the eyes to the tip of the tail. Adult green tree pythons reach a maximum length of six feet, but three to four feet seems to be the average. The snake spends most of the time in treetops, where it coils neatly on a branch, its coloration merging with the foliage. It patiently waits for an unsus- pecting bird, lizard, or squirrel to approach within striking distance. Then it grabs the prey with needlelike teeth and throws several coils around it, squeezing the breath out of it. When the victim's struggles cease, the snake swal- lows it head first, like all constrictors. The female python lays about a dozen eggs. During the six weeks it takes the eggs to hatch, the snake remains coiled closely around the eggs, without food or water. The Snake in the Torah The snake (Nachash) is the first animal mentioned by name in Chumash. It is the sly, wily and mischievous creature that tempted Chavah (Eve) to eat of the forbidden fruit, in disobedience to G-d's command. Since then the snake has become the symbol of evil and temptation. As such it is identified with the Yetzer hara, the evil inclination that tempts a person to do bad things. The Yetzer hara is very cunning. It has various tricks to ensnare an unsuspecting victim. It might plant a bad thought in the mind, which works like a poison, in the manner of a poisonous snake. Or it might come with a "friendly embrace," in the manner of a "constrictor," which is equally dangerous. Fetters in use
It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word (Nechashim), meaning "chains" or "fetters," is related to the word Nachash and its way of forming coils, like rings of a chain. Indeed, it was in such chains that the mighty Shimshon ended, when he allowed him- self to fall prey to the wily Delilah (Judges 16:21). Our Sages said wisely, "One cannot live with a snake in one basket." It is as dangerous to play with the Yetzer hara as it is to play with a snake, be it of the poisonous variety or a constrictor. The only thing to do is to give them both a wide, wide berth.
Snakes Fun Facts ," is related to the word Nachash and its way of forming coils, like rings of a chain. Indeed, it was in such chains that the mighty Shimshon ended, when he allowed him- self to fall prey to the wily Delilah (Judges 16:21). Our Sages said wisely, "One cannot live with a snake in one basket." It is as dangerous to play with the Yetzer hara as it is to play with a snake, be it of the poisonous variety or a con- strictor. The only thing to do is to give them both a wide, wide berth. •
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