My Snake Crate

10/07/2024

It's breast cancer awareness month!

This disease is extremely widespread, and chances are someone you know has either fought this disease, or has felt it's effects as their loved ones fight it.

Scientists are scrambling for a cure, and in their research have turned to snake venom! In this case, the specific protien contortrostatin, which has shown to reduce the growth of breast cancer tumors and the growth of blood vessels feeding it!

Snake venom can save lives!

10/02/2024

Many venomous snakes are contributing to science in a big way!
Venom is being used in research, and some proteins discovered in venom are being used in medications and recreated in lab settings for all sorts of applications! Some of these include cancer and heart medications.

09/25/2024

The Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps) is a venomous snake native to the coastal regions of southern East Africa.

Despite their reputation for being 'aggressive' and their ability to move quickly, these relatively shy snakes actually spend most of their time hidden in trees, often waiting in ambush for their next meal! This species mostly preys on arboreal or flighted animals, like birds and their eggs, bats, and even relatively arboreal rodents like mice, rats, and gerbils!

09/23/2024

Most people don't think of rattlesnakes as having many natural predators but that couldn't be further from the case!

While massive individuals are less likely to be eaten than smaller individuals, there are several species of snakes resistant to their venom that like to snack on rattlesnakes, and none so much as the Eastern Indigo Snake!

Eastern Indigo Snakes are known to have a preference for rattlesnake over other species, and because of this it has actually changed the behavior of Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus) in parts of their range!

Previously these rattlesnakes were known to shelter in gopher tortoise burrows, but in areas with a prevalence of Eastern Indigo Snakes, they prefer to hide in hollow stumps and logs rather than the traditional burrows, since Eastern Indigos prefer gopher tortoise burrows as well!

09/14/2024

Why do we always post the taxonomic/scientific names for each species we talk about?

Well that's because common names are a LOT less specific! Common names are the names that most people call snakes (or any animal). But the problem with common names is that they vary by region, generation, language, situation, and can sometimes be used to describe multiple species, as well as not always being scientifically accurate which can lead to confusion.

Taxonomic names however are typically relatively descriptive of the animal (though not in all cases), and even when changed with new information, are still 100% unique to each species!

A great example of this is the North American Cottonmouth, or Agkistrodon piscivorous!

This species is relatively widespread and is well known across their range due to their defensive nature and being venomous. This has caused it to receive dozens of common names!

Some of the common names used for A. piscivorous are used to describe other species like 'black snake' as a common name for some harmless snakes in the Pantherophus genus (north american rat snakes), and water snake is most commonly used to refer to Nerodia species!
Others like 'white-mouthed rattler' are inaccurate, since these snake are venomous but are NOT rattlesnakes!
Some names are so regional, that someone from another region/state may not have any idea what a 'snapjaw' snake is! This is also true for older common names as well that may have been used prior, but are lost on younger generations.

Common names are excellent in general for every day use, and it's likely if you use the name you know for a snake (or any animal) the average person is going to recognize it over the scientific name.

We utilize the taxonomic names so there is no confusion, especially since we have followers and customers from all over the world! It is also so those that are interested in a species can take it further and learn even more on their own, and know with confidence that they're learning about the correct animal!

We'll dive deeper into why taxonomic names exist and how they're used in biology in another post on another day!

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09/10/2024

Caudal or tail luring is when an animal uses it's tail to attract prey. Snakes do this quite a lot!

A LOT of species of snake have discolored tail tips that will either stay discolored as they age like with many arboreal vipers and boa constrictors, or disappear and become uniform with the rest of the snake like with copperheads and green tree pythons.

The snakes will lie in wait with their bodies hidden, blending in to the surrounding area with the tips of their tails exposed, wriggling it to look like a brightly colored worm, attracting birds or frogs. Rattlesnakes have been known to use their rattles to make "ticking" sounds to attract prey.

The spider-tailed horned viper from the mountains of Iran has taken this a step further, growing bristle-like structures sprouting off the tip of their tail. Instead of using bright flashy colors, they drag their tail across their body, the "bristles" catching on their scales, making it look like a live spider is crawling all over them, attracting birds!

09/05/2024

Today marks 18 years since the passing of Steve Irwin

His legacy however carries on in the form of the dozens of conservation projects he began, including the purchase of thousands of acres of land in three separate locations to start wildlife refuges!

09/02/2024

08/27/2024

If you've ever wondered how to tell the difference between thamnophis species, wonder no longer!

Art credit: Birdandmoon comics

08/25/2024

Boelen's pythons are large snakes (7-9'), closely related to scrub pythons found in Papua New Guinea and West Papua. There is still a ton of mystery wrapped in this animal's natural history due to them being largely inaccessible to humans, mainly non-natives. A lot of the local tribes surrounding the island are well known for cannibalism. If you can get passed the cannibals, you have to climb thousands of feet up a mountain while dodging venomous snakes like taipans and death adders. These snakes are found at the tops of these mountain ranges, literally in the clouds where the weather is cold (often 50-60 degrees) and nearly constantly raining.

In the wild, these snakes are likely eating couscous (a mammal, closely related to opossums but slightly smaller), but no one knows for certain what hatchlings are eating. It's believed that adults are only eating once a month in the wild, which leads to them becoming obese very easily in captivity and dying of fatty liver disease. After eating couscous, these snakes then invade their burrows and use them for nesting, often returning to the same nest every year to lay their eggs. Babies are born bright red and turn black as they age.

Due to living in such a constantly cold, wet environment, they've evolved to be black to absorb what little sunlight shines through the clouds and actively bask for a few hours at a time to raise their body temperature then they retreat back into their burrows. The environment is so harsh that no other reptiles are found in it, certainly not pythons. Another part of the mystery to these animals is that no one has found males in the wild, it's theorised that males are either more arboreal than females and are simply too high in the trees to feed or they live in higher elevations and only come down to breed. Most animals in captivity were either imported as babies or gravid females were imported and produced eggs in captivity.

08/20/2024

Hognosed snakes might be the most famous of the snakes with upturned snouts, but did you know this is a feature found in most fossorial species? The Australian coral snakes (Simoselaps) like the one pictured are some of the species also known to have a tilted nose!

The upturned snout is typically utilized for digging and rooting for food!

08/19/2024

If you haven't checked out our conservation shop yet, you're really missing out!

Fun and unique art, with a cause! Each purchase benefits an organization that works with the animals represented!

08/18/2024

Throughout history, snakes have made many appearances in mythology and imagery, with a large amount of these occurrences being positive!

One of the most recognized is the Ouroboros, which most commonly depicts a snake eating its own tail!

This is generally known as a symbol of the cycle of life, depicting eternity, life and death and rebirth!

However, in many cultures this symbol is also accompanied by a tale of a serpent that surrounds the world, protecting it!

08/12/2024

We bet you're wondering why we're posting pictures of owls on a snake education page...

Well it's because eastern screech owls (like the one pictured) actually kidnap Texas blind snakes (Leptotyphlops dulcis) and bring them back to their nests alive!

Some of these snakes are immediately eaten by the babies, however some are able to burrow into the woodchips in the nest and cohabitate with the owls! The snakes living in the nests prey on insects and their larvae that would otherwise become potential parasites to the baby birds! The nests that were occupied by blind snakes in the study done by Baylor university produced healthier chicks in the long run!

08/08/2024

We know you laughed!

08/05/2024

We've mentioned this in our rattlesnake species posts, but did you know that there is absolutely no correlation between the length of a rattle and the age of a rattlesnake?
It is true that rattles grow as the snake grows, with new buttons being added when they shed, but what this also means is that the number of buttons can be extremely variable depending on factors like how much the snake is eating (as this directly correlates with how quickly snakes grow!) Some snakes shed once a year, others 5, and younger snakes actually grow faster and shed more often!
Another factor that makes this an inaccurate way to determine the age of a rattlesnake is that their rattles are actually made of keratin like our fingernails and can and do break when they're hit against things! As they get longer they get more floppy and the risk of breaking becomes even greater.

This rattle came from an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake that was less than 5 years old and has 10+ visible buttons, with a couple that remained on the tail!

08/02/2024

Rough green snakes (Opheodrys aestivus) have a very unique way of blending in with their surroundings!

These thin green snakes live in trees and underbrush where they already blend in rather well, but these snakes take it a step further by slowly swaying and waving the front third of their body to look like leaves or small branches blowing in the breeze!

They will also do this while travelling across flat ground, and will often travel in short jerky movements to avoid detection.

08/01/2024

Gaping is a relatively common defense mechanism in snakes. Sometimes this is a snake rearing up and opening it's mouth in a threatening way, essentially saying 'back up, I bite!', and other times this is part of a another defense mechanism, playing dead!

Different species use different versions of gaping, and even individuals of the same species or at different times will utilize both!

There are many species that employ this defense, including hognosed snakes, false water cobras, mangrove snakes, radiated rat snakes, bullsnakes, and most famously cottonmouths!