Some facts about snakes Snakes hear with their lungs and smell with their tongues…

The oldest fossils of snakes are some 135 million years old. Snakes share some common characteristics. They are covered with scales, move easily though they have no legs, arms, fins or wings and are cold blooded.

The tongue is important for it is through the tongue that snakes smell the world, and snakes have a good sense of smell. Snakes constantly flick their tongues out. The tongue picks up tiny chemical particles of scent from the air or ground and this is transferred to the roof of the mouth where snakes have a tasting and smelling organ. Snake “ears” are in an odd place, just as thier “noses” are inside their mouths!

Snakes hear with their lungs. Sound waves are felt as tiny vibrations which travel from the skin to the lungs and from there to nerves in the inner ear. Vision is not important for burrowing and most snakes can only differentiate between light and dark.

However some like the tree snake and the rat snake have better vision.The skeleton of the snake is made up of a skull and a long backbone with dozens of ribs attached to it. The joints enable snakes to bend and coil their body in all directions.

The jaws of snakes are extremely flexible and allow them to swallow animals larger than their own heads. A stertchable ligament joins the two halves of the jaw and each half of the jaw can be moved back and forth by itself. The teeth are curved inward preventing their prey from escaping. Have you ever touched a snake? If so, you’ll know that they are not slimy. Their skins are dry. The scales may be rough or smooth.The entire body of snakes including thier eyes are covered with scales. Snakes periodically shed their skins.