Snake Facts

 - True or False?

1. Snakes are aggressive and will chase or “attack” a person.
   False. If alarmed, a snake may crawl toward a person if the person is between the snake and its hiding place. Snakes will defend themselves by biting when attacked or feeling threatened, otherwise they will attempt to retreat from humans.
2. Snakes always travel in pairs.
   False. During the breeding season, a male and female snake may be found together just before or during mating. They go their separate ways after mating.
3. If you kill a snake the mate will soon follow.
   False. In the breeding season, a male snake will follow the scent of a female that is ready to breed, but they do not travel in pairs year-round.
4. A snake’s tongue can sting you.
   False. A snake’s tongue is used strictly for smelling and is as harmless as a human tongue.
5. A female snake will swallow its young to protect them.
   False. The young would die from the strong digestive acids in the stomach.
6. A snake can spit venom.
   False. There are no venomous snakes native to North or South America that can spit venom.
7. Every snake seen in water is a cottonmouth.
   False. There are several kinds of harmless water snakes that are mistaken as cottonmouths.
8. Snakes are slimy.
   False. Since snakes are not warm-blooded like mammals and birds, they feel cool to the touch, but they are not slimy.
9. A snake does not die until sundown.
   False. If the head is chopped off, or the body is cut in two or crushed by a large object, the snake will die immediately.
10. Snakes congregate in “balls or nests.”
    False. Snakes do not mass together in a “ball or nest.”
11. Snakes can shed their skin a couple of times a year.
    True. Snakes shed their skin as they grow larger, but the frequency of shedding depends on how much food the snake is able to obtain in a growing season.
12. Some nonvenomous snakes will vibrate their tails when threatened or alarmed.
    True. Kingsnakes and rat snakes will often vibrate their tails when threatened, and when this is done against dried leaves or similar material, the result can sound like a rattlesnake.
13. The head of a venomous snake can still bite after being severed from the body.
    True. For a short time after decapitation, the latent nerves in the head can cause the head to bite.

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