Snakes

All snakes are reptiles. They are cold-blooded animals and they lie in the sun to warm up.

Snakes have forked tongues, two eyes but no eye-lids. They have no legs. They have scales, not skin or fur.

They usually like to live in dry places*. They live on the ground but can also slither up the branches of trees.
 * **Brown snakes (also called Eastern brown snakes)** can be light brown or dark brown. They can grow to 2.4 metres. They eat mice and rats. They like dry places and often live on farms. They have venom in their fangs.
 * **Death adders** mostly live in Western Australia. They have venom in their fangs. They live on the ground or in trees. They eat other snakes, lizards, eggs, and small animals or birds.
 * **Emerald tree boas** look scary because they have very big teeth but they are not venomous. They are bright green and they live in South America. They eat small mammals, birds, lizards and frogs.
 * **Gaboon vipers** have the biggest fangs of any snake, and they make more venom than other snakes. They grow to over a metre long (from 122cm to 152 cm). They have a large head shaped like a triangle and they have horns near their nostrils. Their scales are brown or yellow and their heads are white with black under each eye. They live in rainforests, grasslands, swamps or woodland. They hunt rabbits, birds, mice and rats, and sometimes porcupines, monkeys and deer. They don't often bite humans.
 * **King Brown snakes** are the longest venomous snake in the world and the second longest in Australia. Its scales can be light brown, dark brown or black. They can be as long as 2.5 to 3.0 metres. Its venom is not very poisonous, but it makes such a lot of it, it can be dangerous. It preys on lizards, birds, mammals and frogs. It lives in woodland, grasslands, deserts or scrub, but will also hide in wood or rubbish piles, or in the dirt.
 * **Pythons** are constrictors. They do not have venom so they squeeze their prey till it can't breathe. Then they eat it, head first. They eat mammals, birds and reptiles. They live in grasslands, swamps, rocks, woodlands, and jungles in Africa and Asia.
 * **Rattlesnakes** eat birds, rats and mice. They kill with venom in their fangs. They make a rattle noise by shaking their tails. They live in open, rocky places in Canada, America and South America.
 * Red-bellied black snake are not as deadly as other snakes but it does have venom in its fangs. It lives is woods, forests and swamps in Eastern Australia, and it often lives in cities and towns. It often lives near water. It can grow to 1.5 - 2 metres long. It is black on top and red on its belly. It mostly eats frogs but also small reptiles and mammals.
 * **Sea snakes** live in warm shallow water near the coast. They look like eels but they do not have gills so they come to the surface to breathe. they have strong venom in their fangs. They can grow to120 - 150 cm long and they have tails like paddles to swim with. They eat small fish.
 * **Small-scaled snakes** are a kind of taipan. It is the most venomous snake in the world but it is shy. It can be dark brown or green and grows up to about 1.8 metres long. It eats rats, small mammals and birds. It lives in the desert in Australia.
 * **Taipans** are the longest snakes in Australia. It can grow to 3.35 metres. It also has the longest fangs, up to 1.3 mm. It has venom in its fangs. They eat small mammals like rats and mice and sometimes they eat lizards, bandicoots and birds. They are dark grey on top and a dirty white colour underneath. They live in the hot northern parts of Australia.
 * **Tiger snakes** have stripes like a tiger. They can be olive-green, yellow, orange-brown, or black, and they can be light yellow or orange-brown and yellow underneath. They grow to about 1 metre long. They eat mice and frogs. They have venom in their fangs. They often live near rivers and dams.


 * Except for sea snakes, of course!

media type="custom" key="23165624"


 * Sources:**
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * []