Snakes are most definitely the most mis-maligned, and most illogically feared living things on our earth. Of the two thousand two hundred plus kinds of reptiles in the world, fewer than twenty are venomous. Folks have a natural fear of snakes that stems back for 1000s of years. It probably came into existence like a survival instinct, when there wasn’t a means of telling if a snake was poisonous or harmless. In other areas of people’s lives, the scriptures have told us to fear snakes for an entirely different reason. Many people obviously don’t understand snakes, reasoning that they are slimy, nasty creatures.
The premier to understand about a snake is that a harmless reptile will only bite you for one of three circumstances. First, if you smell like something it can eat. If you have recently been holding any mammals, like hamsters, rats, even kittens, the snake could smell the odor on your skin and mistake you for something it can eat. Second case, if the snake mistakes you for a predator that could harm it. Especially when moving your hand down in the snake’s vicinity, the snake can misinterpret your arm as something trying to harm it. Thirdly, and this is the most likely reason non-venomous snakes strike, is simply because they’re nervous. If it’s a choice between biting at you (the 5-6 foot tall giant that just stepped into it’s living area) or slithering away as fast as it can slither, it will choose move away every opportunity. However, if the snake senses it’s being cornered, or finding no place to conceal itself, it might try to bite you, more as a danger signal to stop approaching than to cause physical damage.
Non-venomous snakes are normally really safe to handle, especially pet snakes or snakes that are habituated to being picked up. Even most species of snakes in the wild that are non-venomous are perfectly able to be picked up without fear of bites (the exception being some water snakes and other kinds which are naturally aggressive). When you do need to handle a reptile, try to move leisurely, and edge the fingers under the belly of the snake near it’s tail area. If you move quickly, or from above, it could mistake you for a hunter. After you succeed in lifting the animal and are holding it, don’t grip it by the tail, just support it’s body loosely with both hands (grip loosely but firmly, don’t squeeze too hard as it may hurt it), and the snake will explore it’s way around arms and hands. If the reptile appears ill at ease, or goes into a strike position, it would be prudent to slowly, and gently put the snake back.
It is obvious that reptiles are not nasty or slimy at all. That said, if they get frightened, they might defecate on you as a display of this fear. If this occurs, be sure to wash the area thoroughly with detergent and hot water, because reptiles do carry the bacteria of salmonella in their feces. You must also remember that reptiles, while being beautiful and fascinating to behold, just are not the most intelligent creatures in the world, having about the same intelligence as a goldfish. Remember when you hold a your pet that it likely sees you as a very strange tree, and doesn’t register you as a man or woman. Snakes react to their surroundings by instinct rather than thought, and keeping this in mind, being with reptiles is a breeze, in addition to being fascinating.
So how do you distinguish between harmless and poisonous snakes? There are several ways to tell, even though some kinds of harmless reptiles have evolved so that they look like poisonous varieties if they become scared. If you are ever even slightly in doubt, treat it with care! As a general rule, dangerous snakes have a head shaped a bit like a diamond or triangle, in place of a head that looks rounded like most non-venomous reptiles have. In addition, the eyes are in the shape of an ellipse like the eyes of a cat instead of being round as well. Pit vipers have a trademark hollow between the eye and the mouth. This pit, an organ that senses heat, is a mechanism for the reptile to accurately launch itself at a warm-blooded mammal, even if the snake cannot see the victim. Of course rattlesnakes usually have a rattle, but this isn’t always the fact. Some species of rattlesnakes have evolved without a rattling mechanism! Be sure to take good advice on how to buy a pet snake, and choose a docile species to start with.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
James Bavery shares a strange interest in all things snakey in a series of articles aimed at the pet snake owner. Articles occasionally include advice on how to buy a pet snake.
