Science knows about three thousand species of snakes. They live in water, forests, savannahs, deserts and mountains. How do snakes lay eggs and breed? Do they build nests? Let's find out how the life of snakes in nature goes.
Snakes
Snakes represent a suborder of the reptile class. Together with crocodiles, turtles, lizards, they are referred to as reptiles. Closest to external and internal features, they are to lizards. It is assumed that it was from them that snakes originated about 120 million years ago in the Cretaceous period.
Their body is elongated and devoid of paired limbs, outside is covered with scales. The skeleton consists of a cranium and a spine with ribs. The color of reptiles is the most diverse: bright and dull, with and without a pattern. Within one species, it varies depending on the sex of the individual and the time of year. Many species are poisonous.
Snakes live on almost all continents of the Earth. They are not in Antarctica, Ireland, New Zealand and on some islands of Oceania. The most pleasant for them are the hot tropical areas. Mostly they live on the surface of the earth, but some species have developed water and underground space.
Lifestyle
Absolutely all kinds of snakes are predators. The structure of their ribs and jaws allows you to swallow large prey completely. Some of them are picky and eat only a certain type of organism. Without food, snakes can last about two months.
They are equipped with a good scent, many species have excellent eyesight, thermal and vibrational sensitivity is developed, thanks to which they perfectly see day and night, track production during its movement.
These are ideal hunters. Quietly and imperceptibly, they disguise themselves, looking for a potential victim. Then they rush at her at an unimaginable speed. Boas first strangle prey, other species begin to eat it alive. Poisonous snakes bite and leave the victim, waiting for the moment when the poison paralyzes it.
What does a snake nest look like?
Closest to reptiles is a class of birds. Therefore, it is not surprising that both of them reproduce by laying eggs. True, some snakes are viviparous (vipers, boas, etc.). The reptile mating period begins immediately after hibernation.
They do not make a place for masonry. The snake nest is usually an empty hollow of a tree or an abandoned hole of other animals. They can also place eggs under logs, fallen branches, stones, bury the masonry in the leaves.
Most of them do not protect the offspring. After the serpentine nest is built, the female leaves the masonry forever. Certain species are still caring. For example, a python wraps an egg around a ring, protecting them and at the same time warming them with the help of muscle pulsation.
Snakes breed several times a season. In especially favorable conditions for them, they breed all year round. The average clutch is ten eggs, but not all young individuals survive to maturity.
King Cobra Nest
There are not many snakes that build nests themselves. One of them is the hamadriad, or king cobra. It lives in the tropical regions of Southeast and South Asia, where heavy rainfall occurs. So that the nest does not flood, it is built on a small ledge or hill.
Eggs are laid only a month after mating. One individual produces up to forty eggs at a time. Little cobras are born after a hundred days. At this time, the female constantly monitors them, sometimes the father also participates in the process.
The snake nest is more than 1 m in diameter. To build it, the female collects or breaks off the branches, rakes the leaves with her tail. The nest has two tiers. At the bottom there is a masonry, which is sprinkled with branches and foliage. On top is a female. Periodically, she adds new foliage to maintain the desired temperature.
King cobras are the largest of all known poisonous snakes. At the time of "sitting out" they are extremely dangerous. They track down everyone who is close to the nest, and can attack without warning.