Venomous Snake Families - Elapids

Elapids have short fangs which are easy to fit in their mouths. Here are some Elapids: cobras, taipans, mambas, and coral snakes.

Here is the skull of an elapid. Notice how short the fangs are:

Here are some examples of elapids:

Cobra:

Taipan:

Mamba:

Coral Snake:

Snake Shapes

There are four basic snake shapes: burrowing, round body - like a python, viper-shaped, and tree snake.

Burrowing snake - small head:

Round - like a python:

"Tall" - like a viper:

Tree snake - slender:

Snake Predators

You may think snakes are never hunted. Well, they are. Humans hunt them, birds of prey hunt them, and some mammals hunt them. But only humans hunt them for the wrong reasons. Some of the wrong reasons are hunting snakes for fun, for their skins, and out of fear.

Snakes

Snakes are amazing creatures.  We'll start with venomous snakes.  Cobras are the most famous snakes.  They have hoods like this:

They will rise to strike and defend. but vipers would start low and strike high up at attackers and prey.  On the other hand, constrictors like pythons, anacondas and boa constrictors would squeeze their prey to death (there is a picture of a rock python in this blog's introduction).

Say you see a snake about a foot long--you don't have to worry.  Most of the world's snakes are almost harmless to humans.  Yet the hognosed snake has a hood, but it is harmless.

Yes, snakes are amazing!

Introduction

Hi. My name is Ezra. When I grow up I want to be a herpetologist (and a bunch of other stuff). "Herpetology" means study of reptiles. One of the reasons I want to be a herpetologist is to save reptiles. Even today reptiles are being hunted for their skin and scales. They are being turned into purses, jewelry, and boots.

In this blog you will learn all about reptiles; starting with tuatara and ending with snakes.