Pssssst! World Snake Day is celebrated every year on July 16! Photo by Cavan Images / iStock.com.
Did you know World Snake Day takes place every year on July 16? To celebrate, here are five fun facts about these slithery reptiles:
1. All snakes are carnivores.
That means all snakes eat meat. In particular, they may eat mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, eggs, worms, and insects. Watch this video of an egg-eating snake swallowing a large egg whole:
2. There are over 3,000 species of snakes.
Some species, like the Barbados threadsnake, are as small as 10 cm (4 in.) fully grown. Others, like the reticulated python, can grow to be over 6 m (20 ft.) long.
Some snakes, like this Barbados threadsnake, are tiny! Photo by Velatrix, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
3. Some snakes are venomous.
That means they produce a toxic saliva. Usually, the venom is injected into their prey through their fangs, though some species spit the venom.
King cobras are venomous. They have sharp hollow fangs that inject venom into their prey. Photo by DikkyOesin / iStock.com.
4. Baby snakes are called snakelets.
Some baby snakes hatch from eggs their mothers lay. Some snakelets hatch from eggs inside their mothers’ bodies. And some snakelets are born live (with no eggshell).
These Taiwan beauty snakelets will hatch from eggs their mother has laid. Photo by Jean Valjean de la Valdieu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
5. Snakes can’t blink.
They do not have eyelids. Instead, they have a clear membrane that covers their eyes called a brille.
Snakes, like this green anaconda, can’t blink. Photo by nikicruz / iStock.com.
We hope you enjoyed this roundup of cool snake facts! To learn more about snakes, read our articles, King Cobra, Green Anaconda and Burmese Python.
