Read About Different Types of Snakes

Different Types of Snakes are becoming more and more popular as household pets. Everything you need to know about them is contained in this article.

Different Types of Snakes - Facts

  1. Description:

    Snakes are limbless reptiles that are related to lizards.
  2. Varieties:

    There are over 2,500 species of snakes throughout the world.
  3. History:

    History proves that snakes evolved from burrowing lizards or lizards that were going through aquatic adaptation.
  4. Physical Traits:

    Snakes have bodies that are covered in scales that they shed periodically. Their eyes are covered with transparent scales, thus they have no eyelids. They also have no external ears and have no limbs.
  5. Other Defining Characteristics:

    Some snakes will hibernate, and most all like a place to hide in their environment. There are some snakes that give birth to live young while other snakes are egg-layers.
  6. Habitat:

    There are so many varieties of snakes that you will find them in just about any kind of habitat: deserts to prairies, forests to lakeshores. The only place you will not find snakes is in Antarctica.

Different Types of Snakes - Concerns

  1. Benefits:

    Most snakes will feed on rodents. This is reason that many farmers do not mind snakes being on their farms. The snake helps to keep the mice population to a minimum, and the farmers do not have to worry about the mice ruining the crops in their silos.
  2. Liabilities:

    Some snakes can become aggressive especially when it is their feeding time. You should always pay close attention to your snake when you are feeding or handling it. There are several breeds of snakes that are venomous. Extreme care should be taken when you are near these types of snakes.
  3. Health Issues:

    Snakes can be very prone to stress. Wild and captured snakes are prone to having diseases, such as parasites, that can be harmful to both the snake and its handler.
  4. Specific Care Needs:

    Some snakes have difficulty with shedding their skin. To assist them, a snake needs access to logs and branches to shed their skin. Some snakes need additional moisture during their shedding. Misting their terrarium during this time will aid in your snakes shedding process.
  5. Reaction to Children and other Pets:

    Some snakes can become very aggressive. You need to watch small children around snakes. Other pets should also be supervised when around your snake so as not to become the snake's next meal. Children should NEVER be allowed to handle any type of venomous snake.
  6. Special Household Needs:

    Be sure to keep your children or pets away from your snake anytime you cannot supervise them.

Different Types of Snakes - How to Choose

  1. What to Look for:

    You will want to make sure your snake looks alert, has plenty of water, a clean water bowl, a clean tank, eliminating different kinds of species in their terrariums, observe their skin that it looks healthy and not dry or flaky, and that you have supplied proper heating and lighting in the tank.
  2. Supplies:

    You will need a lamp, heater, tank, a place for your snake to hide, water bowls, branches and vines, and some type of bedding in your snake's home.
  3. Expense:

    The cost of owning a snake can vary greatly. It depends on the type of snake you are looking for and the source from where you are buying your snake. Usually, the larger the snake is the more expensive it will cost to both purchase and supply its food.