kevs reptile house

fun facts

here are some fun and interesting facts about snakes.

the 4 largest snakes in the world

green anaconda / eunectes murinus 20ft-30ft upto- 550lbs

reticulated python / python reticulatus 20ft-32ft upto- 300lbs

burmese python / python molurus bivittatus 16ft-27ft upto- 403lbs

african rock python / python sebae 18ft-30f upto- 250lbs

in most species of snake the females are larger than males!

snakes never stop growing! they continue to grow their entire lives slowing as they get older. This is why older snakes shed their skin fewer times a year than younger snakes.

a couple of videos show a snake shedding

the worlds largest venomous snake

king cobra / ophiophagus hannah upto-18ft upto 20lbs

the largest of all known snakes was found as a fossil in egypt and was named gigantophis. It was related to the boids/boas and pythons and measured over 50ft.

the worlds smallest snake

lesser antilles / leptotyphlops bilineatus 4in-6in one eighth of an inch in diameter (size of a pencil lead )

the worlds smallest venomous snake

crowned black headed snake/ tantilla planiceps upto 10in ( not dangerous to man)

Tantilla planiceps - California Black-Headed Snake

the worlds most venomous snake

inland taipan/fierce snake/oxyuranus microlepidotus dispite it's common name this is quite a docile snake

out of about 2000 species of snake only arond 400 are venomous and even fewer are a real danger to humans

the most primitive of snakes are thought to be the boids / boas/pythons, and still have remnants of rear legs known as anal spurs.

the most recent snakes to evolve are thought to be the rattle snakes.

snakes can't hear air bourne sounds and only pick up vibrations from the ground.

not all snakes eat rodants, birds or in the case of the giant pythons and boas larger mammals. some species of snakes live on insects, others on fish and eels such as the sea snakes and water snakes, while others feed predominently on other snakes. one of the favourite prey items of the king snake which are non venomous snakes are rattle snakes.

milk snakes and some kingsnakes /lampropeltis which are a harmless species of snake found in south america/ central america and some even into north america, mimic the deadly coral snakes / leptomicrurus as seen in these pictures

king snake