Boa Constrictor

Boa Constrictors

Introduction

Boa Constrictors are non venomous snakes native to tropical Central and South America. They come in various colors depending on where they live. They tend to camouflage into their surroundings and have distinctive patterns on their backs. These snakes can grow up to 13 feet which is pretty long! They also weigh over 100 pounds. These snakes are often hunted for their beautiful skin and are endangered.

Behavior/ Diet

Boa Constrictors are excellent swimmers as well but they prefer to live on land. They primarily live in hollow logs and abandoned burrows. The Boa doesn't have venom but it is still a carnivore. It uses its jaws which are lined with small teeth to grasp the prey while they coil their muscular bodies around the prey. This suffocates the prey and the method is similar to the Burmese python. These snakes will eat almost anything they can get their mouth on. Like the python, they also swallow their food whole.

A Boa Constrictor coiling around its prey

Burmese Python

Burmese Python

Introduction

The Burmese Python is a non-venomous snake that is native to the jungles and grassy marshes of Southeast Asia. These snake come in many beautiful colors. These snakes are HUGE! They can grow up to 23 feet long and weigh over 200 pounds. Unfortunately, they are often treated badly by owners and hunters and because of this, they become inclined to attack which gives them a negative image, although they aren't violent if not tempted. 

Behavior/ Diet

The Burmese Python starts off being a tree dwelling snake when young. But as they mature and grow bigger and bigger, climbing trees isn't possible anymore so they become ground dwelling snakes. They are docile snakes. Something not widely known is that they are excellent swimmers and can stay submerged for 30 minutes. These pythons are carnivores as well. They eat primarily small birds and mammals. They are blind so they catch their prey by using chemical receptors on their tongues and heat sensors along their jaws. Once they catch their prey, they grasp it with their mouth and coil around it and suffocate it. They also tend to swallow their prey whole. 

Burmese Python eating an alligator

Cottonmouth

Cottonmouth

Introduction

The cottonmouth or water moccasin. is a venomous semi aquatic snake. They can be found primarily in the Southeast United States. They have triangular heads with a dark line going through the eyes. Unlike the coral snake, the color of the cottonmouth varies significantly. They be have bright beautiful colors, or they can be black or brown. These snakes are fairly large as they can grow to lengths of 24-48 inches.

Behavior and Diet

Cottonmouths, being semi aquatic stay near the water. The live in swamps, wetlands, or floodplains. They are also known to live under logs and twigs near the water. They come out during both the day and the night. These cottonmouths consume a variety of prey. The eat both aquatic and terrestrial animals. Some of their prey include fish, baby alligators, lizards, turtles, smaller snakes, and mammals. Cottonmouths are aggressive snakes as they don't back down from their predators. They swim with their whole body above the water. Although they are aggressive, they seldom bite. They only bite if they are provoked by either being picked up or stepped on. 

Venom

The cottonmouths venom is classified as hemotoxic venom. This type of venom can be extremely deadly and it can cause death. This type of venom attacks blood and tissue cells near the area where the bite was. It causes bite victims to experience blood loss in that area. Instead blood come out of other areas such as eyes, ears, and fingernails. This damage can be permanent. 

Texas Coral Snake

Micrurus Tener

Introduction

The Micrurus Tener is a venomous species of snake. It is commonly known as the Texas Coral Snake. They are found in the Southern US and Northern Mexico.  The Texas Coral Snake is one of the deadliest snakes. They are distinct and recognizable with their red, black, and yellow bands. The follow the rule of "red and yellow, deadly fellow. Red and black, friendly Jack". This means that since the red and yellow bands are touching one another, it can be recognized as venomous. They can grow up to 40 cm in length but most are around 25 cm.

Behavior and Diet

The Texas Coral snake is relatively shy compared to to other snakes. They are nocturnal (meaning they come out at night). They usually hide out in piles of leaves, underneath logs, and in underground burrows. So even though you might not know it, there could be on the these Texas Coral Snakes near your feet. These snakes primarily eat other smaller snakes and small animals that live underground. They differ from other snakes as they rarely eat rodents.

Venom

The Texas Coral Snake is most famous for its venom. The venom is a very powerful neurotoxin and it causes neuromuscular disorders. This venom can cause death through respiratory or cardiovascular failure. The snakes has two hollow fangs through which they inject the poison by biting their victim. So the snake has to bite and hold on for a couple seconds before the venom is injected. Bites from these snakes should be considered dangerous and medical attention should be found.

A note of my own:

The Texas Coral Snake was my first snake that I provided information on. My next post will have another venomous snake and information about it will be provided.

Okay so I've decided to use this post to just give an overview of what to expect from the upcoming posts. I will focus on 4 snakes; two of the venomous and two of them non-venomous. For each of them, I will give information about their habitats, diet, lifestyle, size, and other useful facts as well.  I will also provide a picture for each of them so you guys can get a better idea of how it looks.

After having posts about these things, I will begin to compare them with one another and most likely include some visual such as a Venn diagram or something of that sort. My goal is to show that not all snakes are alike. There are many differences amongst them, not just whether they are venomous or non-venomous. So hopefully by the end of this, the message that not all snakes are harmful, evil creatures is sent across.

Welcome to a Snakey Blog!

Hi, my name is Rofin Maknojia and I have decided to finally start my first blog.  I've wanted to start one for a while now but I never knew what to talk about."Just talk about something you like" people would tell me. But thats a problem... I don't really know what I like. On top of that, honestly I just didn't think I had enough time to constantly add entries.

But about a month ago, I went camping with my boy scout troop and we came upon a garden snake while hiking. Most of us were scared but surprisingly, I wasn't.  I don't know what, but something about it just intrigued me. Is it the way they move? Is it the way they pounce? Is it because of all the different kinds of snake?

I don't know but I've become fascinated with them. So I have decided that I will keep an informative blog about different kinds of snakes. They are often labeled as dangerous but hopefully with this blog, I can show you that not all snakes are dangerous and that many can actually be really friendly.