One of the most commonly encountered snakes in suburban Brisbane is the common tree snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata). This inoffensive, non-venomous snake is completely harmless to humans and for many is a welcome visitor to their backyards. Being harmless to humans however doesn’t mean it is completely without defences with the common tree snake (along with […]
Anyone lucky enough to observe a snake will likely notice that the animal constantly flicks its tongue as it negotiates its environment. The reason for this is that snakes have something called the Jacobson’s organ that provides a particularly interesting sense – chemoreception. This organ is part of the olfactory system and is comprised of a patch […]
Often snakes will feed on very large prey items many times bigger and wider than their heads and bodies. To facilitate this a snake’s bottom jaw is in two parts allowing it to effectively “walk” its jaw along the body of its prey until it has completely swallowed its meal. As impressive as this method […]
Most people are aware that many snakes have fangs which are involved in the delivery of venom. What is not well understood is how snake fangs actually work. This post is “fangs 101” providing a basic description of the different fang types and how they work. Firstly to warrant having fangs it makes sense to […]
With snakes beginning to move around due to the increased temperatures many people ask me questions regarding snake hibernation and are astonished when I explain that snakes don’t actually hibernate. Hibernation refers to the way warm-blooded animals over-winter by slowing their physiological processes, entering an unconscious state and burning fat reserves to maintain organs and […]
At first glance snakes look rather disadvantaged in the locomotion department, laking limbs or other appendages with which to propel their cylindrical bodies. That said, many snakes are fast movers, efficient climbers, excellent swimmers, adept burrowers and some can even fly! kind of. So how do they do it? Snakes have five basic forms of […]
Humans tend to anthropomorphise other animals, thinking of their interactions, failings and abilities in a human context. While this can often make it easy for us to conceptualize complex ecological processes, it regularly fails us when considering highly adapted animals. Snakes are one such group. So what senses are important for snakes and how do […]
Snakes can fast for a number of months after consuming a large meal. Recent research looking at physiological effects of feeding in Indian Pythons (Python molorus) shows the snakes organs undergo substantial changes that remain for the entire digestive process – in this case up to 8 days. These included up to a 30% increase […]
Being limbless offers snakes a number of advantages but ease of feeding is not one of them! A snakes body plan just doesn’t equip them with the necessary tools to effectively tear prey items into manageable sized pieces. They are however amazingly adapted for the consumption of whole, large prey items that basic physics should […]
Red-bellied Black Snake Pseudechis porphyriacus The red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) has a slightly better reputation with the brisbane public than the eastern brown. Like most ‘black snakes’ the red-belly is disinclined to bite and generally very placid but with sufficient provocation bites have occurred. Despite this the red-belly has never been linked to a human […]
