SNAKE 



SNAKE 



H06- NOSED SNAKES USUALLY 

 FLIP OVER ON THEIR. BACKS 

 V^HEN''PLAYJNG DEAD." 



Defense 



Practically all snakes depend on crawling away or hiding 

 ^o escape their enemies. Even the poisonous ones almost 

 always lie quietly or get out of the way if given the opportunity. 

 Bluffing is the second line of defense for most snakes. This 

 nnay range from the hissing of a buUsnake to the "playing dead" 

 act of a hog-nosed snake. 



Certain kinds of snakes will sometimes roll themselves 

 into a ball when approached by an enemy. With its head pulled 

 into the center of this ball, a snake is fairly well protected 

 by the loops and folds of its body. This defense is not too 

 effective against larger enemies. Actual biting is a last ditch 

 defense for most snakes. This is true among non-poisonous 

 as well as poisonous varieties. Many non-poisonous snakes 

 have several rows of sharp teeth capable of causing small 

 punctures and scratches. Probably the best known defense 

 in snakes is the striking and biting practiced by poisonous 

 varieties. 



Poisonous Snakes 



Rattlesnakes, copperheads, and water moccasins represent 

 the pit viper family of snakes in the United States. Snakes 

 belonging to this family have a deep pit on each side of their 

 head between the eye and the nostril. These pits give the family 

 its name. Pit vipers have fangs that can be folded back against 

 the roof of the mouth. Pit vipers native to this country have a 

 poison that is hemotoxic, which means that it attacks the 

 victim's blood stream. 



Rattlesnakes are the best known poisonous snakes of the 

 United States. They are distributed from coast to coast and 

 from Canada well into South America. Only a few areas within 

 the United States are outside the known range of one or more 

 species of rattlesnake. The largest rattlesnake in this country 

 is the eastern diamondback, which may attain a length of eight 

 feet. The smallest is the pigmy rattler, which rarely exceeds 

 twenty-four inches. Between these extremes, there are over a 

 dozen additional kinds of rattlesnakes in the United States. 



Diamond-back 



RATtLBSNAi^e 



