Snake snake Patterned snake - painted snake

The yellow-bellied snake is a slender snake. Five species of this genus are known in the fauna of Russia.

These are fast-crawling land snakes with a graceful body and relatively long tail. They have a head clearly demarcated from the body, big eyes with a round pupil. Both when hunting and when defending against enemies, they rely on their excellent vision, quick reaction and high speed movement.

The yellow-bellied snake is the largest snake in Europe

The yellow-bellied snake reaches a size of two meters, and record specimens exceed two and a half meters, while the length of the tail takes up about a third of the total length, and the body diameter of the largest individuals is only five centimeters. Therefore, even very large snakes look slender. Their head is relatively small, covered with large scutes. The eyes are large and not covered by shields. Dorsal scales - without ribs. The color of the upper side of the body is uniform - olive-gray, brownish, yellowish, red in different shades or almost black. Moreover, in some places each scale is lighter in the center, and in some places - along the edges, which creates a fine-mesh pattern. The underside of the body is also plain - usually yellowish in color.

In young snakes, one or two rows run along the gray or brown background of the upper body dark spots, in places merging with each other into short transverse stripes. A number of smaller spots stretch along the sides. Small dark spots form a regular pattern on the head. Their ventral side is grayish-white with yellow or reddish spots along the edges of the ventral scutes.

Where does the yellow-bellied snake pick?

The yellow-bellied snake is common on the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, southern Turkmenistan, Moldova, and Ukraine. In Russia it lives in the Lower Volga region and in the Ciscaucasia.

This snake prefers dry and open places. It is found in steppes, deserts and semi-deserts, bush thickets, sparse dry forests, among rocks and on rocky slopes (in the mountains it rises to a height of up to 2000 meters), as well as in the ruins of buildings, in gardens and vineyards. Snakes are also found along the banks of rivers, but they do not enter the water, but crawl there in search of food and because of the excellent shelters in the coastal thickets. Sometimes they crawl into outbuildings, under haystacks. Like many other species of snakes living in similar biotopes, they hide in rodent burrows, among stones, in dense thickets of grasses and shrubs, as well as in low tree hollows. Yellow-bellied snakes are very attached to their shelters and constantly return to them, even after moving considerable distances.

Lifestyle

Yellow-bellied snakes apparently overwinter in rodent burrows and other shelters in the ground. Sometimes several individuals gather in one place for wintering.

The yellow-bellied snake is known for its aggressiveness. When someone says that they were being chased by a snake, then, unless this is fiction, they are most likely talking about this particular snake. Of course, the yellow-bellied snake does not specifically rush at people and does not hunt for them. But if a person threatens him, the snake often rushes to attack himself - with a loud hiss that frightens the enemy and with his mouth wide open. At the same time, he can “jump” towards the enemy at a distance of up to one meter, trying to grab onto the very vulnerable spot. It happened that he struck strong bites. Aggressive behavior Even such a large animal as a horse can put a yellow-bellied snake to flight. Not only adults and strong individuals of this species display an evil disposition, but also juveniles.

In nature, these snakes are few in number, but not rare. During a day excursion you can see several snakes of this species. At the beginning of the 20th century there were much more of them; in the southern Russian steppes they were considered the most common snake.

The yellow-bellied snake crawls very quickly. If, fleeing persecution, he encounters a cliff on his way, he deftly “jumps” from it. It climbs branches quite well, but does not climb high in trees. Active only during the day.

What do yellow-bellied snakes eat?

When hunting, it energetically searches for and pursues prey. Can remove found prey from a hole. It eats a variety of vertebrates, which it can find on the surface of the earth and in burrows. Sometimes it destroys low-lying bird nests, but more often it deals with the offspring of birds nesting on the ground. The yellow-bellied snake's diet includes lizards various types, snakes (including poisonous ones), small birds, mouse-like rodents.

Vipers and ephas caught by this powerful snake sometimes manage to “sting” it, but their poison has no visible harmful effect. Sometimes the snake eats large insects. In relatively humid biotopes it also catches frogs.

Reproduction of yellow-bellied snakes

IN mating season these snakes occur in pairs. During mating, the male holds the female by the neck with his jaws; At the same time, the snakes lose their usual vigilance. After four to six weeks, the female lays 6-12 eggs, sometimes in hollows or cracks in tree trunks. Puberty occurs at the age of three to four years, and life expectancy in nature is estimated at seven to eight years.

Yellow-bellied snakes sometimes become prey for large birds, foxes, and martens. They die under the wheels of cars: a car is not a horse; you cannot frighten it either by its size, or by its loud hissing, or by its threatening throws. The vicious behavior of the yellow-bellied snake causes special hostility among people. This, in addition to their open lifestyle and large size, means that snakes are killed especially often. In addition, like other inhabitants of flat open areas, this species suffers from plowing of steppe lands, grazing and other forms of economic activity person. In this regard, the number of the yellow-bellied snake is steadily declining, although it is not in danger of extinction, at least in the near future.

Like many other snakes, the yellow-bellied snake is often kept in terrariums and enclosures. Captured animals initially behave very restlessly in captivity, but quickly get used to it and become less aggressive and dangerous.

In southeastern Dagestan, the red-bellied noli, which is close to the yellow-bellied one, is common. This is a “red” snake: its dorsal side is red or brownish, its belly is colored in reddish tones, and even its eyes have a red iris.

Corn snake- a snake that has become very popular among terrarium lovers in our time. The name is translated from Latin as follows: elaphe - crawling, guttata - spotted. It was named corn snake because the snake can most often be found on corn plantations. Sometimes the reptile is also called red rat snake, it stands out among other species with its beautiful bright color and variety of colors and patterns.

Among reptile collectors, the corn snake takes first place, even if we take into account world terrarium. Specimens of this species are practically never caught in nature, since these snakes have been successfully breeding in captivity for decades. IN lately researchers noted the fact that in terrarium conditions the number of corn snakes is greater than in natural environment habitat. In addition, lines of color variations were recorded that were fundamentally different from the typical ones.

Description of the corn snake

The corn snake has a relatively small size: adult snakes grow up to 150 cm long, babies, depending on age, 20-40 cm. The largest distinguishing feature these creatures are color. Its variety and beauty of all kinds of designs is simply amazing. Standard colors snakes are considered black, red, which includes all its shades, from pink to cherry, brown, orange, cream, white.

It is worth noting that among this variety of colors there are varieties whose color does not contain black, they are called amelanistic. They have predominantly white and flesh colors, which can be diluted with orange, yellowish or light red spots. Doesn't have it in its color scheme black and albino corn snake. These animals are soft cream in color with barely visible dark stripes, their eyes are red or pink.

It is impossible to tell where the male is and where the female is based on color and size; they are distinguished by their tails. Males are distinguished by a long tail with a characteristic thickening at the base; it is cylindrical from the anus, then turns into a cone. Females have a noticeably shorter tail; they have a cone-shaped tail without any thickening at the base.

Wild habitats

The corn snake is found more often than other snakes in America in the state of Indiana, even taking into account the fact that there is a huge variety of reptiles of all kinds. The corn snake is also found in the Cayman Islands and Mexico.

In nature it is beautiful creature lives in deciduous forests, on the slopes of rocks, in barren lands. If there are abandoned farms or other non-residential buildings in the listed areas, then there is a high probability that the snake will make a home there.

Lifestyle

With proper care, the corn snake can live up to twenty years. A young corn snake lives only on the ground and does not have the strength to climb to higher ground. A mature snake is capable of climbing even very high tall trees, although according to his lifestyle he does not need it.

In winter, the maize beauty hibernates and remains in a sleepy state until the onset of spring warmth; it begins to behave actively when the grass has already grown quite tall. IN wildlife For the winter, the snake crawls into rock crevices, under logs, or into other secluded places. Sometimes in the middle of winter he can short time crawl out of your shelter to lie a little in the sun.

The main activity of the rat snake is hunting. It hunts small birds, rodents, lizards and invertebrates. Having caught up with the prey, she tightly squeezes it in her arms and strangles it.

The snake is active at night or before dawn; during the day, especially when it is very hot, it prefers to rest in the shade in a shelter, trying to choose a place where no one will disturb it.

Corn snake: content

In order for your pet to develop well and not get sick, he needs to create necessary conditions. The terrarium for the corn snake is selected according to its size. For babies and young snakes you will need a “house” with a volume of 40-50 liters, for reptiles aged 4-5 years you need at least an eighty-liter terrarium.

It is necessary to place a special substrate at the bottom of the “house”, only if it is made from corn cobs, then it cannot be used, as it dries out the snake skin. It is recommended to take coconut substrate, coarse sand or gravel. Lighting is suitable with fluorescent lamps, the temperature is maintained at about 25-29 degrees, using a thermal mat or thermal cord. Be sure to make sure that there is a corner in the terrarium where the snake can hide. These could be houses, shelves or something similar. In addition, do not forget to put some snags or branches, the handsome maize loves to crawl along such small hills.

There must be a ditch with water in the snake's home so that the corn snake can swim and get wet during molting. A ditch with sphagnum moss is placed in the warmest corner, thanks to this the necessary humidity will be maintained and the snake will have the opportunity to burrow, it also needs to do this from time to time. The cold corner should be dry.

How to care for a snake?

There are some rules that must be followed when caring for a corn snake:

Throughout daylight hours The corn snake needs irradiation with UV lamps or three times a day for 15 minutes with erythema lamps.
. IN summer time in good weather, snakes can be given sunbathing. You just need to make sure that your pet there was a place nearby in the shade so he could hide from sun rays.
. You need to remember that the red rat snake drinks water and loves to swim. Therefore, in the terrarium you need to build a reservoir with fresh water, which is changed regularly.
. Once a month the snakes should be given essential vitamins.
. If you notice that the snake's eyes have become milky-bluish in color and the body color has faded, then this is a signal that your pet will soon molt. At this time, you need to rinse your eyes warm water, after a day the runner should shed.

Corn snake: feeding

If the rat snake is not hibernating, but leads an active lifestyle, then it feeds every ten days. In its natural habitat, the snake feeds on bats, rodents, lizards, birds and their eggs.

At home, snakes are fed mice, rats, hamsters, quails and chickens. Young reptiles are fed newborn mice. Feeding is carried out once every five days. The snake needs such a break between meals to digest food and defecate normally.

It is recommended that you do not allow your corn snake to catch its own mouse or bird in the garden. For the simple reason that, along with such prey, a snake can catch an infection and get sick, poisoning is also possible. It is better to buy food from people who have been harvesting small rodents for many years.

There's one more thing important rule in the feeding procedure. Food should never be handed out with your bare hand. The food must be secured in special tweezers. Then wiggle it a little in front of the snake so that it pays attention to it. In this case, you need to behave very carefully, as you know, the snake swallows its prey whole and at once, so it can easily reach your hand if you decide to ignore the advice on using tweezers.

Breeding

Breeding corn snakes at home is quite possible. Sexual maturity in reptiles of this species occurs at the age of 2-3 years. Females mature a little later than males. Corn snakes are classified as oviparous snakes. Copulation is short-lived, lasting 10-20 minutes. After mating, after one to two months, the females lay eggs. You need to make sure in advance that there is a ditch with sphagnum next to it at this time. It is there that she will lay a clutch of 6-35 eggs.

This is where the participation of the snake in the production of offspring ends. The eggs must be placed in an incubator where the temperature is maintained at 27-29 degrees. The incubation period is 50-75 days, after which small corn snakes hatch from the eggs, their length is approximately 200-240 mm. The babies will start feeding after the first molt.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Before you decide to purchase a corn snake as a pet, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons. To do this, let's look at the disadvantages and advantages of this beautiful reptile.

Advantages:

Propagates well at home.
. Easily adapts to the conditions in which it is kept.
. Corn snake morphs are very interesting and vary in color.
. Due to its relatively small size (1.5 m), it does not require special maintenance or overly large terrariums.

Flaws:

They love to explore a new area and are able to run away, so in order to avoid such a nuisance, it is necessary to take timely measures to arrange their housing.
. It is often affected by bacteria, so it is necessary to closely monitor the health of the snake and keep the snake’s “house” clean.

Based on the above, we can conclude that the corn snake will not cause much trouble to its owner, but positive emotions will add plenty.

Corn snake and man

The corn snake, the price of which is not too high (from 2.5 thousand rubles and above depending on a number of factors), will be a wonderful pet. He is considered the most the best snake for beginners in reptile breeding and this is an ideal option for the first inhabitant of a home terrarium. This opinion is explained by the fact that this handsome man has a peaceful character and is completely unpretentious in his maintenance.

It is better to purchase a cub, it will be easier to tame. The corn snake lives calmly next to humans, showing absolutely no fear. He quickly begins to recognize his owner, gets used to his hands and loves to accompany him in household chores. It is simply impossible not to love this beautiful creation of nature!

Skids– large non-poisonous ones more than two meters long. Distributed both in the Caucasus and in Central Asia, as well as in the south of the Far East, and even in North America.

Skids- Very fast snakes. The only thing that crawls faster than them is . It should be noted that the snake crawls at the same speed (about 6 km/h) both on stone or sandy mail and on tree branches. Sometimes it’s hard to call it crawling, because when moving along the branches, most of the snake’s body is in the air. The snake swims just as well as it crawls.

The snake usually poses no danger to humans. Although the aggression of some species, for example, spotted or yellow-bellied snake forces one to be careful. They can attack for almost no reason, jumping high and trying to bite the face.

Big-eyed snake, can also rush at a person, but only in a hopeless situation. Despite its height, or rather its length of 3.5 meters (of the non-venomous snakes, the only one that is larger), it perfectly climbs the thinnest branches in the crown of a tree, hunting birds. In search of food, a big-eyed snake can crawl into a barn or even into a house. There he hunts and, and along the way, chickens.

Snake is a type of snake belonging to the Colubridae family. They live in North America, Asia, and also in our country. The dinner family is large and varied.

One of the largest representatives of the family is the snake, reaching two meters in length and considered the largest in Europe. Many fables have been told about him. For example, that he chases people, strangles them and drags them into his lair. These are fictions, but a snake snake is really capable of unexpectedly and for no reason attacking a person, although it cannot cause serious harm: its bites are not strong, and a person can simply throw the snake away. Of course, it’s scary when such a giant attacks, and yet this is not a reason to mercilessly kill snakes - active destroyers of rodents, even such large ones as gophers.

Not all members of this family are aggressive. The olive snake is a snake that prefers not to communicate with a person, but to immediately hide from sight. It is found in Central Asia and Transcaucasia, but prefers to settle near human dwellings, sometimes even in attics and gardens.

Many people don’t understand whether it’s a snake or not? So, of course, he has teeth, and he can press them down with them, but there are no poisonous glands, that is, mortal danger he doesn't carry it. Among the representatives of colubrids there is a species whose saliva is quite toxic. This is a colorful snake - a snake that can only bite if grabbed or startled. Otherwise, this reptile is peaceful, moreover, when it meets a person, it runs away from him with such speed that it is not always possible to even follow it.

The largest representative of the family lives in the valley of the Mugrab River in This is a big-eyed snake - a snake up to 3.5 meters long, very peaceful. In extreme cases, she is capable of using the force of a tail strike to the head. By the way, this is the second largest snake after the boa constrictor among non-venomous reptiles.

All snakes are excellent swimmers and climb trees. Some even settle in hollows and feed without leaving the tree. Another interesting view- Aesculapian snake. The snake has specific abdominal scutes for climbing trees, but it also spends a lot of time on the ground, hunting and watching for rodents.

There are also patterned, leopard, and Transcaucasian snakes. They all love to feast on bird eggs and chicks, but the benefits from them outweigh the harm caused. The same cannot be said about the four-striped snake - this snake is very harmful, since it is not interested in rodents, it feeds exclusively on birds, and destroys nesting boxes and birdhouses.

The cupid snake deserves special attention, a two-meter snake that lives on Far East. He is not at all afraid of people and adapts well in captivity. In those parts, even today, large, calm, tamed snakes sometimes crawl in courtyards, but there are no traces of rodents there. We can say that he plays the role of a cat.

Mating of all colubrids occurs in May. The male wraps himself around the female, holds her by the neck with his jaws, and they remain in this position for about 30 minutes. Later, the female will lay 10 or more eggs, from which offspring will appear in September.

As the weather gets colder, snakes settle in their favorite places for the winter. They come to the surface with warming, around March-April.

There are more than 45 species of snakes in the fauna of the CIS countries. Some of them (for example, representatives of the genera Vipers and Cottonmouths) use poison for hunting and protection, and therefore can be dangerous to humans. However, most species of snakes belong to the genera True Snakes and Climbing Snakes that are absolutely harmless to humans. This article will help you figure out how to distinguish a snake from a viper.

Main features of runners

Snakes are often large snakes(one of the largest in Europe). Often, the length of an adult snake can reach two, and sometimes even 2.5 meters. Despite the impressive length, the width of large runners in the widest areas is very modest - only five centimeters. This gives the snake’s body a particularly slender, graceful appearance. The snake is capable of moving unusually quickly: when running away from danger, it can jump from small cliffs and climb low trees.

The snake's head is small, but a weak boundary between the head and body is visible. The muzzle is streamlined and rounded. The eyes are slightly convex, the pupil is round in shape.

Snakes hunt for various small animals that can be caught on the surface of the earth or in burrows, for example, various rodents, lizards, and frogs. He also does not hesitate to destroy bird nests located on the ground.

The most known species skids is the so-called yellow-bellied (or Caspian) snake. Representatives of this species can reach a length of two or more meters. The color of an adult snake is monotonous: the back can be yellowish, reddish or olive-brown. Sometimes you come across individuals with an almost black color. Some scales are lighter at the edges, and some are lighter in the center: this creates a special pattern. The belly of the snake is also colored monotonously, in most cases - in yellow(which gave the species its name).

Baby snakes are gray or brown with large rows of dark spots on the back and a grayish belly. On the head of young snakes you can see a regular pattern of small spots.

In addition to its impressive size, the yellow-bellied snake is also famous for its aggressiveness. If a person disturbs this snake, it often rushes to attack itself - opening its mouth wide and hissing threateningly. At times, the runner can even make a small jump in the direction of the enemy. Both adult and young snakes can fend for themselves. The snake bites quite painfully and produces blood, but these snakes have no poison, so there is no danger of poisoning.

Main features of vipers

Most often found ordinary and steppe viper . These two species are quite similar to each other and are equally dangerous for humans and domestic animals. Vipers are relatively small snakes, the usual length for them is about 40-50 cm, however, there are specimens up to 80 cm.

The viper's head is quite large and flattened. Large scales, the so-called supraorbital shields, are clearly visible above the eyes. The pupil is vertical. In the open mouth, you can distinguish a pair of poisonous teeth (about 4 mm), which are located in the front part of the upper jaw.

The color of the viper can be extremely varied: the main color can be yellowish, brownish or gray. In many individuals, a special zigzag pattern can be seen along the ridge. Vipers with a completely black back are quite common. The belly of vipers is gray, brown, sometimes black. Young snakes almost always have a zigzag stripe on their back.

The viper feeds on frogs, lizards and small rodents. Can destroy bird nests found on the ground. Baby vipers eat a variety of insects, worms and terrestrial mollusks.

Viper bites are very painful, but in the vast majority of cases they are not fatal (children and the elderly are still at risk). The main symptoms of viper poisoning are as follows:

• Severe pain at the site of the bite.
• Nausea, vomiting.
• Dizziness.
• Profuse sweating.
• Diarrhea.

You can suck out the poison from the wound only if there is no damage to the oral cavity, but there will be no benefit from cauterization. If possible, you should inject a special serum subcutaneously and call an ambulance.

How to distinguish a snake from a viper

The main signs by which you can distinguish a snake from a viper are the following:

1. Eyes: the snake’s pupils are round, while the viper’s are vertical, slit-shaped (like a cat’s). Also, the viper has large supraorbital scutes, which give the snake an “evil” appearance.
2. Dimensions: An adult snake is more than twice the length of an adult viper. The length of the snake is about two meters, and the viper is no more than 90 cm.
3. Head shape: the viper’s head is quite flattened, the border between the head and the body is noticeably visible. The snake has a rounded head, both in front and transversely, the border between the head and body is much less noticeable.
4. Coloring. In the vast majority of vipers, no matter what color dominates their overall coloration, a zigzag pattern on the back is clearly visible, while in snakes the color of the back is always monochromatic, without visible patterns. However, it should be remembered that both among snakes and vipers there are completely black specimens, so you need to rely not only on this feature.
5. Behavior. The snake will immediately hiss loudly and attack, perhaps even chase the person. Perhaps a small snake will try to hide; this snake crawls unusually quickly. The viper, on the contrary, does not differ in its speed of movement, and, in case of danger, it will curl up into a ball and will warn enemies with a hiss.