Found everywhere in the animal world different kinds snakes and serpentine creatures. One of the most famous representatives This class, undoubtedly, are snakes. As a rule, snakes, unlike most snakes, do not pose any threat to humans, since they are completely non-venomous. It is quite simple to distinguish them from vipers: on the sides of the head the snakes have clearly visible light spots of a crescent shape (usually yellow, off-white or orange color). Sometimes there are individuals without spots, but extremely rarely.
The body of snakes is usually gray or dark gray, with a white belly, covered with ribbed scales. It is quite easy to distinguish between a male and a female due to their size. Females are usually much larger than males. The largest individuals reach a length of up to 1.5 m. The body of the snake is protected by a dense protective layer of scales, and the tails are different for everyone - sharp, thin and powerful in one species, short and rounded in another, and abrupt in a third.
Snakes see quite well in the dark. Apparently, due to this, they lead a predominantly twilight or nocturnal lifestyle. Snakes' eyes are very well developed and have a round, vertical or oval pupil.
The habitat of snakes is limited to several European countries, but most of them are in Ukraine, as well as in most of Russia, including Siberia, Transbaikalia and South Karelia. These animals prefer different areas, but they prefer wet places. The most suitable living conditions for snakes are near rivers, swamps and lakes, in forest thickets, floodplain meadows and wet forest-steppes. They are not too afraid of people, so they live quietly in gardens, orchards and build homes in outbuildings. The home for snakes is the rhizomes of trees, holes and hollows, heaps of stones, hay in stacks and other secluded places.
There are two main types of snakes: common and water snakes. From the names it is clear that one is more adapted to life on land, and the second - in aquatic environment. Ordinary snakes crawl beautifully not only on the ground, but also climb trees and make their way through the thinnest cracks. Water snakes are excellent swimmers and divers, and can stay under water for a long time.
And if common snake can be found everywhere (both on land and in water), the water snake lives only in reservoirs. They are fond of both salty and fresh waters.
Snakes most often prey on small amphibians and fish, and much less often on small invertebrates, mammals or birds. At the same time, they swallow their game, without killing it, whole and alive. Surprisingly, fish up to 12-14 cm long and even small lizards are often found in the stomachs of snakes.
Snakes spend the winter in groups. They climb into animal burrows and get into cracks in the soil. Sometimes up to several hundred of these animals can gather in wintering areas.
The mating season for snakes begins in May, immediately after spring molt. A couple of months after mating, the female lays from 5 to 30 soft eggs small size. Quite often the eggs stick together and form something like a honeycomb. In places to preserve their offspring, female grass snakes choose damp places that are well protected from access by other animals and humans. Usually these are rotten stumps, heaps of manure and abandoned holes of various rodents.
Of course, snakes also have enemies. The primary dangers for them are snake eagles, foxes, minks, raccoon dogs, and kites.
Usually, when danger approaches, snakes flee or pretend to be dead. A deterrent factor for many predators who want to attack a snake is unpleasant odor fluid secreted from the glands of the cloaca.
The worst thing that can happen to a person after an encounter with a snake is poisoning, and only in the case of a person’s individual reaction to the bites of snake-like snakes.
Viper refers to poisonous snakes, which frightens most people. Not everyone knows what to do in case of a viper bite, which we will tell you about today. The origin of the snake had the meaning “disgusting animal”, and over time, from this word “reptile”, it was given a name. Many of us are confused snake with viper, how to distinguish them? We will tell you about this in our article, and start with the characteristics of the reptile.
Description of the common viper
Common viper a completely small representative of this family, her body length is 60-70 cm, but there are also snakes that have reached a length of 90 cm. Weight reptile weight varies from 50 to 180 grams, and what is most interesting is that females are much larger than males. Color at common viper changeable: it can be completely black, bright copper, yellow-brown, red-brown. Most snakes have a pronounced zigzag pattern on their backs and a grey, black or whitish belly. And, as we know, tip of the tail has an orange, reddish tone. Head the viper is flattened and quite large, and muzzle rounded. Eyes she has small, constantly expanding and contracting, which perfectly helps to see clearly both day and night. Perhaps the most dangerous thing about a snake is fangs, located on the upper jaw of the snake, secreting poison. Teeth reach 4 cm, capable of rotating back and forth, and in a closed mouth, they quietly fold themselves and are covered with a film. During the attack, viper capable of opening its mouth 180 degrees, and its bite is more like a blow than a bite itself. Viper lifespan on average 15 years, but some individuals can live up to 30 years.
Feeds snake small rodents, birds, lizards, insects, amphibians, frogs. This species of snake has a wide range of habitats. You can meet her in Russia, Great Britain, in Eurasia, in Korea, in Italy, in Albania, in France, in Lapland, in Siberia, in the Far East, on the coast of the Barents Sea, in Greece, in Transbaikalia, in Turkey.
How to distinguish a viper from a snake
1. A non-venomous snake, when the viper is poisonous
2. The viper is pure black in color, and if it is black, it has yellow-orange spots on its head
3. Snakes have a checkerboard pattern, while vipers have zigzag stripes.
4. The merman does not have yellow spots on its head, so it is easy to confuse. BUT! In a viper, regardless of skin color, various spots always predominate
5. Snakes have no teeth while vipers have sharp fangs.
6. Pupils are round, vipers have vertical pupils
7. Snakes have a thin long tail, vipers have a short one
8. In length, snakes are much larger than vipers; the length of its body can reach 1-1.3 meters
9. The snake has an oval-shaped skull, while the viper has a triangular skull
10. When meeting people, snakes try to quickly hide
11. Snakes can most often be found near bodies of water, because they prefer damp places, while vipers live in forests, steppes, and grass.
TYPES OF VIPERS, CONSEQUENCES OF A VIPER BITE
What to do if bitten by a viper
Certainly, viper bite very dangerous for humans, and sometimes fatal. Its venom quickly enters the bloodstream, and after 15-20 minutes of a bite, dizziness, nausea, rapid heartbeat, chills appear, and the most dangerous are convulsions, fainting and coma. We all understand perfectly well that in case of a bite it is necessary to call ambulance. And if you are in the countryside, which is most likely, and help can take a long time to arrive, so how can you help yourself or your neighbor?
1. The first thing to do after a bite is to provide rest to the area, most often the arms or legs. It is necessary to tie up the limb and limit movements.
2. Press on the wound and try to remove the poison by sucking it out. The main thing is to spit saliva periodically! This assistance will take 15-20 minutes.
3. Be sure to disinfect the bite site with any product that contains alcohol, except perfume, but cologne is quite suitable.
5. If a person faints, perform artificial respiration and cardiac massage.
6. It is necessary to drink fluids as much as possible: water and weak tea.
Types of vipers
The classification of vipers is divided into 4 types:
1. Viper - common viper
2. Pit heads - have infrared pits between the nostrils and eyes
3. Azemiopinae – Burmese viper
4. Toads - whose goal is to constantly reproduce and lay eggs
But this, dear friends, is only a classification of subfamilies, but in fact, species of viper quite big:
Ordinary
Nikolsky's viper
Nosy
Stepnaya
Horned keffiyeh
Burmese (Chinese)
Noisy
Rhino viper
Labaria (Kaisaka)
Diamondback rattlesnake
Levatskaya (Gyurza)
African dwarf
Bushmaster (Surukuku)
VIDEO: ABOUT VIPERS
IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL SEE WHAT VIPERS LOOK LIKE AND YOU WILL ALSO LEARN A LOT OF USEFUL AND INTERESTING THINGS
IN warm time year, many people prefer to relax in the fresh air - in the forest and in plantings, in the country, near bodies of water. Here they are in danger in the form of snakes, some of which are quite harmless, and some of which are deadly!
We decided to clearly understand how it differs from a viper and how not to confuse them.
Snake and viper: differences in head shape
When you encounter a creeping reptile, you need to look carefully at its head. Snakes have an elongated and oval skull, resembling the shape of an egg. Vipers have a head that looks like a triangle or a spear. Poisonous representatives of the fauna have very noticeable arches in the neck area. In the summer, a snake can easily be confused with a viper, especially if it is in a bad mood. In this way the snake tries to scare the intended enemy.
Eyes and their differences in vipers and snakes
Poisonous snakes and snakes have many differences. One of them is the pupils. Vipers are characterized by the presence of rods in a colored shell. They are located parallel to the body. Harmless snakes have round or oval pupils. They can be compared to cats. The iris has some differences. In vipers it contrasts with the body color, while in snakes it merges. The latter have excellent vision, which allows them to quickly search for food, reacting to objects in motion.
Shields on the reptile's head
The shape of the scutes in non-dangerous animals is distinguished by regular lines. They have enough big sizes and are symmetrical in relation to each other, covering most of the head. Venomous reptiles have three scutes. Their shape is wrong. The scutes are located in the anterior region of the crown, where the transition to scales begins.
Characteristics of snake bodies
Determining the type of snake by color is the least reliable way. In nature, there are a huge number of individuals on whose bodies it is almost impossible to identify patterns. In lighter-colored vipers, you can see triangles along the back line that gather into stripes. In the colors of snakes, zigzags are excluded. They are more characterized by longitudinal rows consisting of spots, specks and other similar segments. Aquatic individuals have a dark body color. The spots and dots here are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. From a distance, these colors look like zigzags, which causes errors in determining the type of animal.
The body shape of poisonous reptiles is short, thicker and denser. The transition from body to tail is very noticeable. Safe snakes are long and fairly thin. The transition between body and tail is smooth.
Differences in scale shape
Both representatives of the fauna have keels on their scales - narrow longitudinal elevations. In snakes, they visually divide the scales in half and are double. The keel on the viper's scales is solid.
Already is a fast and agile snake. There are signs by which you can distinguish a grass snake from a viper. Experts and terrarium owners talk about the intelligence of snakes, but advise remembering that not all snakes are harmless.
Common snake, photo by Marek Szczepanek
How to distinguish a grass snake from a viper?
Eyes. The pupils of snakes are round, while those of vipers have the shape of a transverse “stick”. Characteristic feature Most snakes have well-developed eyes:
They have a round oval or vertical pupil, like a cat's, and often have a brightly colored iris, which usually harmonizes well with the overall coloring of the body. Snakes, which search for their prey mainly by sight, have greatly enlarged eyes, adapted to react to moving objects (Animal Life, Volume 5).
So: the pupils of snakes are round, and those of vipers are in the shape of a stick, which is located across the body.
Coloring. The coloring of snakes is varied. Among them there are snakes of dark olive, brown, brown and even almost black color. Some snakes have variegated skin with bright patterns. It is possible that this is the protective nature of the coloring, the desire to imitate poisonous snakes. The snake family is numerous. Therefore, in order not to confuse a snake with a poisonous snake, you need to know the characteristics of exactly those species that are found in a particular area. Let's consider three types of genus Snakes (Natrix) subfamilies Real snakes (Colubrinae).
Common snake “It is well distinguished from all our other snakes by two large, clearly visible light spots (yellow, orange, off-white) located on the sides of the head. These spots have a crescent shape, and are bordered in front and behind with black stripes. There are individuals whose light spots are weakly expressed or absent. The color of the upper side of the body is from dark gray to black, the belly is white, with irregular black spots” (“Animal Life”, volume 5).
Perhaps this advice from a famous snake catcher will help someone:
It was quite simple to distinguish a snake from a viper: the snake has sharp yellow or red spots on its head, similar to ears, and its body is monochromatic - dark gray or black. Vipers do not have “ears” on the head, the body is gray or red, and a zigzag stripe stands out sharply on the back (A Nedyalkov. Naturalist in search).
Water snake painted differently. This snake differs from the ordinary snake, although it often coexists with it.
The color of its back is olive, olive-gray, olive-greenish or brownish in color with dark spots located more or less in a checkerboard pattern or with narrow dark transverse stripes. There is often a dark spot on the back of the head, shaped like a Latin letter V, pointing towards the head. The belly is yellowish to reddish, mottled with more or less rectangular black spots. Occasionally there are specimens completely devoid of a dark pattern on the body or completely black (“Animal Life”, volume 5).
Zmeelov A. Nedyalkov warns that it is dangerous to rely only on the color of the snake’s skin. One day, a viper taught him a lesson that could end in tragedy:
I did not yet know that there were vipers painted solid black, and I almost paid a heavy price for my ignorance.
One day I was walking through the forest after rain and saw that the black body of a large snake stretched across the path. The snake's head was hidden in the grass. The black body means it's not a viper, but... I really needed a big one, so I bent down and took the snake without any precautions. bare hand by the body. The snake hissed. Snakes usually do not hiss when picked up. My catcher’s reflex kicked in, and with my other hand I grabbed the snake by the neck so that it couldn’t reach me with its teeth. I look and her pupil is in the shape of a stick. Viper!
What saved me from being bitten was that the viper was very chilled after the rain, and chilled snakes are rather sluggish and clumsy (A Nedyalkov. Naturalist in search).
Tiger snake , which is found in the Far East of Russia (as well as in Northern China, Korea, Japan), is brightly and elegantly colored:
The back is dark green or dark olive in color (occasionally blue specimens are also found), mottled with more or less clear black transverse stripes or spots, gradually decreasing in size as they approach the tail. In the anterior third of the body, the spaces between the black spots are painted a bright brick-red color. Under the eye there is an oblique black, wedge-shaped stripe, with its apex facing downwards, another black stripe runs from the supraorbital shield to the corner of the mouth. There is a wide black collar on the neck, or there is one triangular-shaped spot on each side of the neck. The upper lip is yellow, the eyes are large and black (“Animal Life”, volume 5).
Smell. Snakes have one more difference from other snakes. Alarmed snakes smell disgusting:
The snake waved its tail and doused me with a stream of whitish, stinking liquid. The stench was terrible: a mixture of garlic fumes and some kind of chemical substance. I almost vomited, but I still threw the snake onto the shore. For an hour and a half I rubbed my skin with soap, sand, and alcohol, but I couldn’t remove the smell (A. Nedyalkov “Dangerous Paths of a Naturalist”).
It is believed that in those places where snakes are found there are no vipers. It's a delusion:
In addition to vipers, snakes were also found near the ditches. They say that snakes are at enmity with vipers and kill them. I have seen more than once how a grass snake and a viper lie side by side and calmly bask in the sun. And I never saw them fight (A. Nedyalkov “Naturalist in Search”).
Types of snakes
There are many different snakes, but the most common in our country are these three species.
(Natrix natrix ) is found in Europe (except for the Far North). It is a black or dark gray snake measuring up to 1.5 m (usually 1 m, females are noticeably larger than males) with two yellow or bright orange spots on the sides of the head. The snake can be found in overgrown bushes near water, in wet forests and in the swamps. The common snake sometimes settles near people’s homes: in heaps of garbage in the yard, in sheds, stables, cellars and poultry yards. It often hangs onto chickens and ducks or crawls into stables and barnyards. The snake even lays eggs here that resemble those of a pigeon. A dinner egg is filled with a yolk inside, surrounded by a thin layer of white. The eggs are covered with a leathery shell. The female lays eggs bound into “beads” by a gelatinous substance. Oviposition can be found in manure heaps, in a heap of dry leaves, damp moss or in loose soil. There can be 15 - 17 eggs (less often up to 30 pieces). About three weeks pass, and the cubs are born. The length of a snake that has just hatched from an egg is about 15 cm. It is capable of eating worms, snails and various insects.
The common snake spends the winter on land: it hides in old burrows made by mammals, climbs under the roots of trees, etc.
Water snake (Natris tesselata) lives in southern regions Russia, since it is more thermophilic than ordinary. There are many such snakes in the Volga region and on the Don. The water snake is often seen in Crimea (especially on the Kerch Peninsula). These snakes stay near water, not only fresh, but also salty. They swim well (even in big waves) and dive. They feed on frogs, tadpoles, small fish(gobies) and even shrimp. Less commonly, small mammals and birds. To make it easier for the snake to swallow the fish, the snake holds it in its mouth and swims to the shore. There it finds support for its body, sits comfortably near it, and then begins to swallow its prey. These snakes hide from the heat underwater. Snakes sleep in dry grass, in hay, climb into rodent holes, and under stones. In the morning, water snakes slowly crawl onto the banks of rivers and reservoirs. Snakes hibernate under rocks, in crevices and in dense bushes.
Already brindle (Rhabdophis tigrina) in Russia it is found in the south of the Far East (Primorsky Krai, near Khabarovsk) in damp areas near water, in forests and meadows. They are seen even in cities. The length of the snake is about 110 cm. The snake feeds on frogs, toads, small rodents and fish. This snake is considered conditionally poisonous, since it poisonous teeth located deep in the mouth (on the back of the maxillary bone).
For humans, tiger snake bites, usually inflicted by short front teeth, pass without a trace. However, in cases where the bite is inflicted by enlarged posterior maxillary teeth lying deep in the mouth, and into the wound in large quantities saliva and the secretions of the upper labial glands enter, severe poisoning can occur, not inferior in severity to that from the bite of real poisonous snakes(Animal Life, Vol. 5).
Snake nutrition
Snakes are excellent swimmers and often get their food not only on land, but also in water. The diet of snakes mainly consists of small vertebrates: amphibians and reptiles. However, there are lovers of rodents, birds and fish. Frogs are a delicacy for snakes. He catches them in the water and on the shore. A hungry snake swallows several small frogs at once. In the water, it also hunts tadpoles and fish.
Watching him eat is unpleasant. He swallows frogs alive, just as some people swallow live oysters. The discrepancy between the sizes of the frog and the snake makes the process of eating a terrible sight - the snake has a large mouth with a small head, thin body, in which a swallowed frog sticks out with a terrible knot... As a child, I was once caught with such a knot on my neck. I poked it with a stick - a live and unharmed frog jumped out from inside, it was still crawling, but it was completely white: the stomach juice of the snake had discolored it (Hans Scherfig “The Pond”).
The snake is said to hypnotize its prey. Externally it looks exactly like this. A. Nedyalkov saw with his own eyes how the frog obediently approached the snake:
I have been told many times that snakes hypnotize frogs. But this time the “hypnosis” did not take place. To see everything better, I pulled away a branch of the bush. The frog noticed the movement of the branch and made a desperate leap, turning over its head in the air. He continued to lie motionless. Looking closely, I saw that from time to time he threw out a forked tongue from his closed lips. I didn’t bother the snake and returned to my place. About five minutes later, near the same bush, the frog purred again. I approached the bush again. He was already lying in the same place, and the frog was purring again and approaching him. She did not jump, but, carefully moving her paws, crawled the way soldiers crawl on their bellies. This time I did not move the branches, and soon the frog approached the snake at a distance of twenty centimeters. Suddenly it rushed towards the frog and grabbed it by the end of its muzzle with its mouth. The frog struggled, but could not escape. Moving his jaws, he grabbed her tighter and tighter. The frog no longer purred, but desperately scraped the snake’s head with its paws. The snake's jaws kept moving and moving. The frog's eyes were already at the very edge of its mouth. I felt sorry for the frog, and I pushed the snake with the end of the grabber. He didn’t immediately let go of his victim. Only after I squeezed his neck quite hard with my grip, did he open his mouth and the frog escaped. She immediately jumped into the grass, and then slid into the thick of the bush... I don’t think he hypnotized the frog. Most likely, she noticed his moving tongue, mistook this tongue for a worm, wanted to eat this worm and herself became the prey of the snake (A. Nedyalkov “Naturalist in Search”).
Handmade
Snakes have been kept in captivity since the time Ancient Rome. Then they caught mice. Nowadays, there are also hobbyists who keep snakes at home. They advise designing the terrarium as a “forest + pond”. It is advisable to feed snakes with frogs and live small fish. Snakes are considered intelligent snakes that can get used to humans. This is what Hans Scherfig recalls about something he already knew in his book “The Pond”:
He was so sweet and friendly. A real pet snake that was not afraid of people. He even got rid of his old bad habit of hissing and making bad smell when you touch it. Frightened snakes smell like garlic.
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There are animals in nature whose very name evokes a feeling of fear. Snakes... Anaconda, boa constrictor, python, poisonous viper– these reptiles are known as animals that can inflict a fatal blow on humans. But even among this class of animals there are exceptions that are absolutely safe for people. It's about about snakes. These representatives of the squamate order, the colubrid family, are considered one of the most harmless reptiles. A common one and a photo of the viper’s twin in this article.
The common one is the most common representative of its genus.
Distinctive external features of common grass snakes
This species of snake is considered one of the largest of its kind. Average body length adult reaches one meter, but scientists have discovered a snake that has grown to 2 meters!
The most common color among snakes is black with two yellow spots on the sides of the head (“yellow ears” is what these spots are also called). It is these “yellow ears” that are distinguishing feature: they can only be used to distinguish a snake from a snake. Sometimes the color is different: there are individuals gray shade with light stripes or spots arranged in a checkerboard pattern. There are two large eyes on the animal's head.
Where does the common grass snake live?
The territory occupied by the snake population is quite wide. This includes the entire European part of the Eurasian continent, except for the northernmost (polar) regions. On the territory of our country, snakes live in the region Far East, as well as from Siberia to Lake Baikal.
Lifestyle of an ordinary snake
Among natural habitats, common grass snakes choose wet areas. They settle near lakes, ponds, near rivers, in reed thickets and swamps. But there have been cases when an ordinary snake was encountered in the steppe area and even in the mountains.
Snakes are not afraid of being close to a person and therefore can crawl into a house or outbuilding absolutely calmly. When caught by a person, it begins to hiss and throw its head forward, and may even bite; however, these bites are not terrible for humans and are absolutely safe. The rest of the time it is not an aggressive animal at all.
These reptiles can float well in the water and swim quite quickly; their body wriggles in the water in the same way as when moving on land.
They are most active during the day or at twilight. Snakes live quite long life– up to 20 years.
What does he eat?
The main diet of the common grass snake consists of amphibians. On " dinner table» Snakes can be caught by frogs, toads, newts, and tadpoles. If the main food is missing, they can eat lizards, insects, fish, and sometimes even birds and small mammals.
Breeding snakes
The mating season for these reptiles begins in the spring. One female attracts several males, all applicants intertwine with the female into one ball. The winner in this mating competition is the most dexterous male, who prevented everyone else from taking possession of the female.
After mating games and fertilization, the female lays eggs. The average number of eggs in one clutch is 30 pieces. Future offspring are deposited in a warm, secluded place - heaps of leaves, sawdust, etc.
This is really A month later, two of the eggs appear, small ones. Their body length at birth ranges from 14 to 22 centimeters. Baby snakes feed on small frogs, and in all other respects they behave like fully grown snakes. The coloring of babies is also no different from adults. Already in the third or fourth month of age, the Ugata babies become fully adult individuals and can themselves engage in breeding offspring.
And this is a poisonous viper. As you can see, you can distinguish a snake from a viper only by its orange-yellow ears Enemies of snakes
Since snakes are non-venomous snakes, they are a very attractive and tasty food for some birds: storks, for example, or other birds of prey. In addition, snakes are often hunted by some mammals. An owl, a wolf or a fox would not mind trying this reptile for lunch.