Yellow snake: names and characteristics of different species. Viper - be careful and everything will be fine. What is the difference between a viper and a snake

comparison of viper and snake

• Snakes are longer than vipers.
  Snakes have a distinctive feature in color -
  “yellow ears”, many vipers have a zigzag stripe along the back.
  Snakes have an oval head, while vipers have a triangular head.
  Snakes do not have poisonous teeth.
  Snakes are more likely to be found near bodies of water, vipers
  prefer forests.
  Snakes feed on frogs, vipers mainly
  mice.
• Vipers (common, steppe) Adders (snakes, copperhead, snakes) PUPIL OF THE EYE
  in vipers the pupil is VERTICAL (like a cat) in colubrids the pupil has a ROUND shape - and no other HEAD SHAPE
  the viper has a TRIANGULAR HEAD resembling a spear, clearly demarcated from the neck with pronounced “brow ridges”; the snake has an oval, slightly ovoid head,
  (not to be confused with an angry snake, when it flattens its head and tries to become like a viper) SHAPE OF SCREENES ON THE HEAD of vipers on the front of the crown of the head are three small, irregularly shaped, triangular scutes. Immediately behind the parietal scutes, the body scales of snakes begin; these are large, regularly shaped, symmetrically located scutes covering most of the heads BODY AND TAIL FORMAT
  in vipers the body is short, more dense (thicker than the snake). And the tail, in comparison with the dinner one, is very SHORT AND DUMB, and the transition from the body to the tail is sharp in colubrids, on the contrary, the tail is THIN LONG PATTERN OF THE BACK AND HEAD in all vipers almost always there is a dark zigzag stripe on the back, but there are black vipers without a pattern.
  for vipers, this is a VERY UNRELIABLE METHOD; copperheads have longitudinal rows of small specks and specks on their backs, the pattern almost always stands out (against different color backgrounds). water snakes have a discernible pattern of dark, staggered spots (especially noticeable on wet skin) ABDOMINAL SCREENS AND THEIR COLOR
  the underside of the viper is mostly dark gray or even black, like Nikolsky’s vipers, but each shield is usually covered with numerous yellowish separate or merging spots of the most varied shapes; in snakes, the upper quarter of the belly (from the head) is light, the second quarter is motley, the lower half gradually becomes in a uniform black color, only in the water snake, whitish spots on the ventral scutes can sometimes have a bright orange color; melanistic snakes have the usual coloring of the belly. THE SHAPE OF THE SCALES AND THE PRESENCE OF A KEEL ON THEM (the keel is a narrow elevation on a separate scale, which seems to divide it into half) in snakes and vipers the keel is on Czech

Attention, TODAY only!

Given three segments with sides a, b, c. Find out whether it is possible to construct a triangle with these sides, if yes, then assign the value 1 to the variable y, and Finish the sentences you have started using coordinating conjunctions and, but, subordinating conjunctions so that, when. The guys are tired _. Travelers approx.

Snakes are slender, non-venomous snakes. Their dorsal scales have pronounced keels. The pupil is round. The head is protected by a small number of large smooth scutes. The ventral side is usually spotted.

All snakes “love” water - they swim and dive perfectly.

The common snake is the largest representative of the genus of snakes. Its record length (including tail) is 205 cm, but usually adult specimens do not reach a meter in size. The tail is relatively long, occupying a fifth and sometimes a third of the total length. The most common color of the grass snake for us is black with a pair of large yellow spots at the back of the head. However, other color variations are also common, and in some habitats of the species there are many more of them than in others. The upperparts may be gray in various shades, sometimes with dark, sometimes staggered spots or narrow transverse stripes. Dark spots may form a fine mesh pattern. There are forms of snakes with longitudinal light stripes. The spots at the back of the head can be different shades of yellow, as well as white, orange-red or pink. Sometimes they are absent altogether. The upper labial scutes are white, separated by black stripes. The ventral side of the body is grayish-white with blue-gray or black spots. Among common snakes, complete melanists - completely black individuals - are occasionally found. There are also known cases of the appearance of real grayish-white-pink albinos with red eyes. Snakes' eyes are quite large.

The differences between males and females are weakly expressed. Males are slightly smaller than females and have a longer tail.

Range of the common grass snake

The common snake has a huge range - almost all of Europe, North Africa and a significant part of Asia (including areas of Northern Mongolia and Northern China). In Russia, it is found throughout the European part, reaching the south of the Republics of Karelia and Komi. In the east of the country it spreads to Lake Baikal.

The common grass snake is found in a wide variety of, but mostly wet, places. There are many snakes in the floodplains of rivers, along the banks of lakes and ponds, in swamps, and in reed thickets. However, they can be found both in the steppe and in the mountains at altitudes up to 2500 meters. This snake is not afraid of human proximity, often appears on cultivated lands, and even crawls into buildings. Sometimes it settles in the basements of houses, in heaps of garbage, etc.

In some habitats, snakes are very numerous. At the same time, in the north of its range, in Russia, it is a very rare species; here only a few individuals can be found, and the local population, usually very familiar with the surrounding fauna, knows nothing about it.

Snakes crawl very quickly and deftly, easily climb trees, often enter the water and swim well, dive and can stay under water for a long time (up to half an hour). Once a swimming snake was spotted in the open sea at a distance of 25 miles from the coast.

Snakes do not have special holes or shelters - at night they hide under the roots of trees, in piles of leaves and branches, under stones. They often crawl into hay and into cracks in buildings. For the winter, they take refuge in deeper and more reliable places - in rodent burrows, pits, and also in human buildings. It happened that severe frosts drove snakes wintering there out of the basements of houses and they appeared in the rooms, and sometimes even crawled into the bed. Snakes often spend the winter alone or in groups of several individuals. But they often have mass wintering areas, to which animals flock in large numbers. There, together with snakes, common vipers and copperheads can spend the winter. Sometimes real snake processions are observed, when along paths invisible to us, but familiar to the snakes, they crawl to their wintering places one after another in a certain direction (perhaps the scent trail left by their fellow pioneers helps them find their way). The common snake is a very peaceful snake. When meeting a person, he always tries to slip away unnoticed. If this fails, it can defend itself, trying to scare off the enemy. Like a cobra, it raises the front part of its body, while its neck becomes flat. It hisses and lunges towards danger, sometimes even with its mouth open. However, it bites extremely rarely, even if you pick it up. The bite of its small teeth, although sensitive, is not strong or painful. Usually he tries to free himself with vigorous movements of the whole body and releases a foul-smelling liquid from the glands located near the cloaca. It also emptys the intestines by regurgitating recently eaten food and throwing out excrement. Perhaps he does this not so much as a defense, but because of stress. If this does not help, he uses a very characteristic tactic - pretending to be dead. All his muscles relax, he hangs like a rope, his mouth is lifelessly open, his tongue falls out of it, and in some cases even saliva with blood drips. He can pretend to be dead not only in his hands, but also on the ground, if the pursuer does not give him the opportunity to hide. Often at the same time, as if in convulsions, he turns his abdominal side up.

What do common snakes eat?

Snakes are active at dusk and during the day. It would seem that with such a wide range of habitats and activity times, and even being so dexterous, snakes could catch a wide variety of prey. But, unlike boas, they prefer almost exclusively amphibians, mainly frogs, as well as newts, toads, and tadpoles. Much less often they eat insects, fish, and lizards; very rarely - birds and mammals. Having destroyed a bird's nest, it can feast on chicks or eggs, but these are exceptional cases (as are cases of swallowing vipers when these snakes are kept together in a terrarium). The dependence of snakes on frogs is strong, and the reason for the disappearance of these snakes in a number of places was a sharp decrease in the number of frogs.

Snakes do not lie in wait for their prey, but actively search for it. Having noticed the frog, he begins to touch and does not sing and carefully creep up to it (if one can say so about an animal completely devoid of limbs). When he manages to crawl close enough to the potential victim without disturbing the potential victim, he makes a sharp lunge and grabs the frog.

It holds slippery prey with its small sharp teeth. If a cautious frog notices the danger in time and dives into the water, it will no longer pursue it, but will slowly begin to look out for a new victim. On land, when he sees a frog, he can chase it. The frog, apparently, is experiencing severe stress at this moment - it “runs away” not with long jumps, which would give it a chance of salvation, but with short and rare jumps. At the same time, she makes a strange sound, completely different from the croaking we are used to, reminiscent of a plaintive bleat. It is not at all difficult for a snake to catch such prey.

The captured victim immediately begins to swallow alive. Frogs have no claws, no teeth, no sharp spines that are dangerous for a predator, so they don’t risk anything. His mouth opens incredibly wide, and he doesn’t care which end he eats the victim from - he swallows it from the place where he grabbed it. After all, as soon as you loosen your grip, the frightened, but still living and mobile prey will slip away. The left and right halves of the jaws of the snake, like most snakes, are movably connected to each other and “work” like the blades of a snowblower, alternately intercepting the body of the victim and gradually pushing it into the mouth.

How is it different from a viper?

The unfortunate frog beats and croaks. Swallowing large prey can take a long time, sometimes several hours. It swallows small frogs quickly, practically without damaging them. If you catch a snake that has just eaten, it will regurgitate its prey. And sometimes it turns out that recently “eaten” frogs remain alive and subsequently return to normal - being inside the snake does not reduce their viability.

However, not all types of prey are completely defenseless against the snake. Toads sometimes manage to protect themselves using characteristic defensive techniques. The poisonous secretions of the skin glands of some amphibians - the fire salamander, the midwife toad - are dangerous for snakes. There have been cases when snakes that swallowed salamanders died from poisoning.

Common snakes have individual differences in tastes: some, in addition to frogs, willingly eat, for example, toads, others never touch them. Some individuals in the terrarium get used to eating raw meat.

Snakes are voracious: they can swallow four to five frogs at a time. But they can also go hungry for a long time. There is a known case when a large female lived without food for 14 months, maintaining mobility; she only drank water.

Ordinary snakes look at each other rather indifferently. They do not have any forms of aggressive behavior towards their relatives. This is obviously due to the formation of large concentrations of grass snakes in various situations - during wintering, in places most suitable for recreation or hunting, during breeding.

Breeding snakes

The main mating season is spring, but sometimes autumn mating is also observed. In general, snakes appear quite early after wintering. There is still snow everywhere in the forest, and somewhere on the edge, in clearings, you can find a snake curled up in a tight ball, basking in the rays of the spring sun. In such warm, wind-protected areas in the spring, males and females meet to procreate. In the most favorable places in good weather you can meet several pairs at the same time. Sometimes a female attracts several males at once - up to 20 applicants have been observed courting a single female. In this case, a group of snakes is formed, which is sometimes called a “mating ball”. At the same time, the rivals do not fight each other, much less bite. They only seek to prevent each other from taking possession of the female.

Courtship behavior in common grass snakes is simple. The male, approaching the female, periodically nods his head, then usually crawls onto her or presses tightly to her side, wrapping his tail around her tail. The male snake does not hold his partner with his jaws, as some other snakes do. During mating, snakes lose their usual vigilance, and you can get very close to them.

Common snakes reproduce by laying eggs that have different shapes - either oblong, elongated, or more rounded, and sometimes pear-shaped. The length of the egg is from 2 to 4 centimeters, the diameter is 1-2 centimeters. The eggs are covered with a white leathery film, which is moist and sticky immediately after laying. This shell consists of microscopic fibers of various structures, which are impregnated with sticky protein. Thanks to this, the eggs stick together and stick to surrounding objects. After drying, the shell becomes denser and it is quite difficult to separate the eggs or remove them from the clutch. Such a strong, non-crumbling masonry ensures better preservation of eggs and protects them from loss of moisture.

The clutch size depends primarily on the age of the female. Young snakes lay 8-15 eggs, older ones - about 30. The record clutch consisted of 105 eggs.

For successful incubation of eggs, the female chooses a moist, warm place, protected from the sun, most often a pile of loose substrate - peat, foliage, sawdust, etc. There, easily pushing apart, for example, foliage with her body, she builds a chamber and lays eggs in it in a compact heap. If an object lying on the ground (for example, a rotten tree trunk) is selected for this purpose, the eggs are laid in an elongated layer. Places with the most favorable conditions for laying eggs attract many females, and then mass clutches occur, which are widely known specifically among common grass snakes. Up to three thousand eggs were found in them, laid by many females.

A “public” incubator can be located in one place for several years. Sometimes mass clutches are found near human habitation. Once such masonry was made in the cracks of the stone wall of an old house. And when hatching began, the residents were subjected to a real invasion of newborn snakes. Frightened people killed more than 1,200 people.

Depending on the environmental temperature, the incubation period lasts one to two months. When ready to hatch, the chick has developed a special egg tooth, with which it makes several cuts in the shell of the egg and opens the exit to the outside. When it first sees the light, the baby snake carefully pokes its head out and, at the slightest danger, hides back into the egg. Only after making sure that nothing threatens him does he slip out of the shell.

The length of newborns is 14-22 centimeters; in color they practically do not differ from adult individuals. In nature, they immediately begin to feed on baby frogs, as well as earthworms and insects. They become sexually mature in the third or fourth year of life. The life of each common grass snake is associated with a certain space - an individual area in which it spends the main part of its active season from year to year. Such an area has an area of ​​​​several hectares, and there are shelters, hunting and resting places well known to the snake. The individual territories of individual individuals overlap widely, since the snakes do not defend their possessions in any way. They may leave their areas for wintering shelters, but return back in the spring. Female grass snakes also migrate to egg-laying sites.

Enemies of common snakes

This snake does not have any effective, active methods of defense against enemies - it can either run away or scare away its pursuer. Therefore, many different animals include grass snakes in their menu. Dinner eggs are often attacked by ants. Newborns even become victims of predatory insects (for example, ground beetles). Snakes swimming in the water are attacked by large fish: there is a known case when a rainbow trout 37 centimeters long was caught while eating a 62-centimeter snake. Common snakes and their favorite food - toads and frogs - sometimes switch roles. During the period of mass birth, large toads are constricted and lake frogs regularly feast on them. In rare cases, snakes become victims of large lizards; sometimes snakes of other species prey on snakes. About 40 species of birds include them in their diet. There are no fewer enemies among mammals; This includes the hedgehog - the threat of all snakes, and small rodents that willingly feed on small bites; there are also cases of cannibalism.

The snake's serious enemy is man. The snake is a very noticeable snake that also lives close to humans. Since the fear of snakes is in people’s blood, and many do not know how to distinguish between dangerous and harmless snakes, snakes are also destroyed “just in case.” Meanwhile, it is quite simple to distinguish an ordinary grass snake from the only poisonous viper snake that lives together with it in most regions of Russia. Bright, usually yellow, spots in the back of the head, large scutes on it and a long slender body clearly distinguish the snake from the massive viper, whose head is covered with small scales and scutes and never has such spots. Snakes are also disappearing due to a decrease in the number of frogs, as well as due to the drying out of their wet habitats. In many places in Europe, this snake is among the species under threat of complete extinction.

A peace-loving person gets along well with people and in the house. In the terrarium, he quickly gets used to the owner and even takes food from his hands. It is much less demanding on living conditions than most other reptiles. Easily reproduces in captivity. In the 19th century in the Kazan province, snakes were kept as pets in some huts.

External differences and habitats. Of the numerous order of snakes in the central part of the USSR, there are 3 species - a harmless snake, which is easy to recognize even from a distance by two yellow or whitish spots that form a “crown” on the back of the head, a rarer harmless snake - the copperhead, which resembles a viper in color, and a poisonous viper with a dark zigzag-shaped stripe along the back, protruding against the general brownish or grayish background of the body; Vipers are sometimes black in color, but are easily distinguished from snakes by the absence of a yellow “crown.” It already reaches 1 m in length; The viper is somewhat smaller - about 60-80 cm.

Snakes live near lakes and ponds, swim well in water and feed mainly on frogs; in the terrarium you can easily observe how a snake swallows relatively large prey alive. The viper lives in forests, among dense thickets, and feeds mainly on rodents (voles). The viper usually does not live long in a terrarium, since it almost always stubbornly refuses food and dies from exhaustion; At first, while the snake is still alert, it is interesting to observe through the glass of the terrarium its attempts to strike with its poisonous teeth, accompanied by a threatening hiss.

Since the viper has poisonous teeth and its bite is very dangerous for humans (there are deaths!), then, of course, when catching this snake, extreme caution must be taken so as not to cause harm to yourself or others.

First aid techniques that were widely used for snake bites - tightening the bitten finger, arm or leg, cutting the wound, cauterization, drinking alcohol - upon closer study turned out to be not only useless, but extremely harmful. They sharply worsen the condition of the bitten person, and, as it turned out, sometimes it is these methods of “treatment”, and not the bite itself, that cause death.

Modern science recommends completely different first aid techniques for snake bites: complete immobility of the bitten limb, applying splints to it, lying down for the victim, drinking plenty of warm fluids. The most effective and efficient way to treat snake bites is to administer anti-snake serum. Serums are prepared from the blood of horses immunized with large doses of snake venom.

Currently, snake venoms have become widely used as medicine. To obtain poison, special snake nurseries have been created in many countries.

How is it different from a viper - the main differences

In our country, there are such nurseries in Tashkent, Frunze and Badkhyz. Snakes, as useful animals, require protection. Some of them have become rare and are included in the Red Book of the USSR.

Body structure of snakes. The main feature of snakes is the absence of limbs, and this feature is reflected in their entire organization.

Having no legs, the snake crawls, bending its body, and with this method of movement it is advantageous for the animal to have a long body that could simultaneously form several wave-like bends on the surface of the earth (watch a living snake: does a crawling snake ever make bends in the vertical direction , as ancient artists depicted snakes), therefore the spine of snakes is very mobile and flexible and consists of a large number of vertebrae (over 200, in some tropical species even up to 450).

In order for the body to move forward in the absence of legs, the snake needs to have some devices with which it could cling to the slightest unevenness in the soil. We need to look for such a device, of course, on the ventral side of the body, and having examined it, we will immediately notice that the skin here has a peculiar appearance and forms wide transverse scutes, very mobile and located in one row one after another.

White-lipped keffiyeh (Trimeresurus albolabris)

If you let a snake crawl over a hand placed in its path, the hand will feel that the abdominal scutes are moving in a special way. The fact is that on the inside the abdominal scutes are connected to each other and to the ribs by special muscles; when these muscles alternately contract, then the abdominal scutes either become vertical, catching on uneven soil, or again lie flat, moving the snake’s body forward (put the snake on a smooth glass surface and watch how it moves in such conditions).

With this movement of the scutes, the ribs play a very important role, and in snakes they are developed on all vertebrae, from the neck to the tail, and, in addition, are very mobile.

Swallowing prey. Since snakes do not have limbs with which to hold their prey in order to eat it piece by piece, they have to swallow it whole (think of predatory fish). Therefore, the opening of the snake’s mouth is extremely wide. But even with its mouth opening wide, the snake could not swallow an animal that is larger and thicker in size than its own head (look how small the snake’s head is compared to the size of the body), if the bones of the oral cavity did not consist of separate parts, movably articulated between yourself. When a snake swallows large prey, both halves of the jaw apparatus (right and left) move widely apart; Both branches of the lower jaw, connected in front by a very tensile ligament, can move especially far away from each other. At the same time, numerous and sharp teeth sitting on the jaws and on the palate cling to the body of the victim; since they are all bent back, the captured prey can no longer slip back out. Then the snake pulls back one half of the lower jaw, then releases the teeth, moves the jaw forward and again plunges them into the prey.

The snake makes this movement alternately with the right and then the left side of the lower jaw, and as a result, the prey is gradually drawn into the mouth. At the same time, the snake abundantly wets the prey with saliva, which makes it slippery and easier to swallow.

Since, along with the limbs, snakes also lack the entire shoulder girdle, and the ribs below remain free and do not grow together, they can also move apart, passing a huge (wider than the body of the snake itself) food bolus through the esophagus into the stomach.

Features of the structure of internal organs. The absence of legs is also reflected in the internal structure of the snake. Since her body is very narrow and elongated, all organs, especially the right lung and kidneys, have a very elongated shape; the left lung is underdeveloped. The intestine does not form loops and runs almost straight. The windpipe opens at the bottom of the oral cavity almost at the very chin, and with the mouth wide open, its opening is exposed - otherwise, when slowly swallowing prey, breathing would have to be interrupted, and the snake would suffocate.

External integuments of the body and sensory organs. In addition to the abdominal scutes, which were already mentioned above and which are of particular importance for snakes in connection with their method of movement, the body of snakes is protected from damage and from loss of moisture by horny scutes (on the head) and scales (on the body and tail).

Unlike lizards, snakes do not have eyelids and their eyes are covered with transparent skin. The shields located above them also serve to protect the eyes, which give the snake’s gaze a seemingly frowning, “evil” expression. The ear openings are also covered with skin.

Snakes molt several times a year, and the old skin is usually removed entirely, like a stocking, and remains among the thickets in the form of a so-called snake crawl.

Eyes covered with skin probably do not see quite clearly, especially before molting, when the eyes are covered with a double layer of skin - both old and living. We can guess this from the increased work of the organs of touch - a long and thin tongue forked at the end (incorrectly called a sting), which the snake constantly sticks out, examining every object on its way.

Snakes also perceive sound vibrations in a unique way. In connection with the adaptation of the jaw apparatus to swallowing large prey, other bones of the head skeleton underwent significant unloading: in snakes, the zygomatic arches and bones covering the temporal part of the head disappeared, and with them the inner ear enclosed in them disappeared. Thus, in the usual sense, snakes are deaf, but with their abdominal surface they perceive vibrations passing through the soil.

Few people are not afraid of snakes. Fear of reptiles is in human blood. And this is no coincidence, because the bite of a viper, which is common in our country, is very dangerous and can be fatal. But quite often it is confused with a non-venomous snake, which is a little similar to it. This snake is not aggressive, and its bite, although painful, is not dangerous. You can encounter both snakes and vipers while relaxing in nature, walking through the forest, and even at your summer cottage. Usually, when a person sees a reptile, he gets scared and sometimes tries to kill it. You need to know what a snake looks like in order to know how to behave when meeting a snake. It’s better not to touch it at all, and if you recognize the viper, then try to get away from it.

What types of snakes are there?

This non-aggressive and non-dangerous snake causes fear and hostility among most people. After all, not everyone knows what it looks like. You can meet him almost anywhere, but most of all he likes to live near bodies of water. In central Russia, the most common is the common snake, which has characteristic distinctive features - by these it is easy to distinguish it from the viper. But the water snake, living to the south, is very similar to its poisonous relative, since it also has a dark or black color. In the Far East there is a tiger snake that has poisonous teeth. He's something to be wary of. But now we are interested in the ordinary one and its difference from the viper. After all, this particular snake can be found in a country house or in a village yard, on the beach or in the forest.

What does an ordinary one look like?

This snake is usually small in size - from 50 to 80 centimeters.

But there are also individuals about one and a half meters long. The main distinguishing feature of the snake, which is known to many, is light, usually yellow or orange spots on the back of the head, forming something like ears. This snake comes in different colors, most often brown, gray or olive, sometimes its body is covered with a bright pattern in the form of spots. They can be dark or light, scattered over the snake’s body or arranged in a checkerboard pattern. The abdomen is always lighter in color, sometimes even white. The body of this snake is elongated, the tail is very long, tapering at the end. The head of the snake is oval, but when it is in danger, it can make it look like the head of a viper. His eyes are large and round.

Snake behavior

1. This snake is not at all aggressive and will never attack first; it would rather crawl away. Its only means of defense against predators is the ability to release a sharp, very unpleasant odor in moments of danger. At the same time, she may regurgitate all the food she has eaten. And if you pick it up, he most often pretends to be dead, hanging like a rope.

2. These snakes live near water and swim very well. But those who know what snakes look like have seen them on the roads, basking in the sun in clearings and even near human habitation. And in winter, in search of a warm place, they can even crawl into the house.

3. The main food of snakes is frogs and toads. These snakes actively hunt, quickly pursuing their prey and then catching it. Holding the victim with small sharp teeth, it gradually swallows it whole. Sometimes this snake can feast on fish, small rodents or birds, but this happens very rarely.

4. People get scared when they see a clutch of many eggs on the ground. After all, when snakes hatch, the sight is not very pleasant, especially if it happens near the house. But if everyone knew what snake eggs look like, the senseless extermination of this species could be avoided. The female lays them in a warm and humid place because their skin is very thin and dries out easily. The clutch consists of small round white eggs, often glued together.

Differences between a snake and a viper

In addition to the main characteristic feature - yellow ears on the back of the head, which many people know about, these snakes have several other differences. And people who are often in nature need to know what a grass snake and a viper look like.

You can distinguish them by their eyes: the viper has a vertical narrow pupil, and the grass snake has a round one.

Their heads are also different: triangular for the viper and oval for the grass snake.

A poisonous snake is usually dark in color, often black, with a zigzag pattern running down its back, and it can be of any color, its distinguishing feature being dark or bright spots and a lighter belly.

They can also be distinguished by the shape of their body: in vipers it is thicker and shorter, the tail is blunt and short. Snakes are thinner and longer, and have a tail that gradually becomes sharper towards the end.

Why know what it looks like?

This snake can be found everywhere, even in a village house. In order not to confuse it with a viper, you need to imagine what it is like. It is also advisable to know what a snake bite looks like. After all, after a person is bitten by a viper, his life is in danger, and he definitely needs medical help. And it’s not poisonous; usually it only scratches the skin with its teeth. This is quite painful, but not dangerous. To avoid trouble, it is better not to come close to any snakes at all, but try to avoid them.

Each season has its positive and, unfortunately, negative sides. The onset of the summer season brings with it bright emotions from the hot sun, rich harvest and fresh air, adjacent to the fear of getting bitten by some insect or even a snake. Snakes live almost everywhere, so if you are a summer resident, a resident of a country house, or just a caring parent, you will probably be interested in the question “how to distinguish a viper from a snake.”

Why these snakes? Snakes and vipers are the most common snakes in our forest belt, and if snakes are completely safe for humans, an encounter with a viper can turn into trouble.

Differences between a snake and a viper

Before you go into the forest to pick berries or mushrooms, go on a picnic with your child outside the city, just relax or work in the garden, you should be aware that in these places you can meet a snake. To prevent such a meeting from bringing trouble, you need to know how it differs from a viper, how to behave when meeting a snake, and how to provide first aid if a snake bite does occur.

Main differences

As noted, unlike the viper, it is not dangerous to humans. Viper is poisonous legless reptile, its numbers are quite large in our country. To distinguish a viper from a snake, we list the main distinguishing features of both reptiles. Let's start with the snakes:

Viper can be recognized according to the following distinctive features:

• the average length of an adult viper is 70 - 75 cm, there are individuals that are longer, but, as a rule, they do not exceed one meter;
• The viper, unlike the snake, does not have round spots near its head, but it has a stripe running along the entire length of its back;
• come in different colors, most often they are gray, blue, brown and black shades, and closer to the tail the color changes to yellow;
• reptiles have a zigzag pattern on their skin;
• a poisonous snake can be recognized by its triangular head and vertical pupils;
• the reptile has two visible teeth in front that contain poison;
• especially active at night;
• lives in forest belts, likes to hide in rocks.

It is important to know these differences, because when bitten by a poisonous reptile, correctly provided first aid to the victim is very important. With timely response and provided first aid, an encounter with a viper will not result in unpleasant consequences. How to provide first aid if bitten by a poisonous snake?

First aid for a viper bite

The viper bite is fast the appearance of edema in the place where the poison got in. If the poison enters the body, it causes nausea, headache, shortness of breath, weakness, and dizziness. Primary symptoms change to anemia, shock, increased intravascular coagulability. Severe cases are characterized by changes in the kidneys and liver.

The bite site looks like two small wounds. At the moment of poisoning, a person will experience sharp and severe pain, and the affected area will turn red and swollen within a few minutes. Swelling will spread at the site of the lesion and above it. The farther the bite is from the head, the less dangerous it is considered. In the spring season, viper venom is more toxic than in summer.

If you or someone you know has been bitten by a viper, you should immediately remove the poison from the wound. If there are no wounds or other lesions in the mouth, the poison can be removed by suction. To do this, open the wound by pressing on the skin folds around it until blood appears. Start sucking out the poison and spit out the poisonous substance. This must be done for 10 minutes, but if swelling appears, stop the procedure. Rinse your mouth using a solution of potassium permanganate or plain water.

There is no need to worry that the poison being sucked out is harmful, since an extremely small dose of poison that is safe for humans enters the body. If you react in a timely manner and begin to suck the poison out of the wound instantly, you can remove up to half of the toxic substance. Treat the affected area using an antiseptic, and around the bite site you should anoint with iodine, brilliant green or alcohol. Cover the affected area with a tight, sterile bandage.

Immobilize the affected limb so that it remains stationary. Avoid any movement, since in this case the toxic substance will quickly penetrate into the blood. The victim needs to drink plenty of fluids, in addition, it is necessary to take one of the antihistamines: tavegil, suprastin, diphenhydramine and others.

What not to do if you are bitten by a viper:

• drink alcohol;
• cauterize the affected area;
• cut the wound or inject potassium permanganate into it;
• apply a tourniquet to the bite site.

After providing first aid to the victim, you should take him to the doctor as quickly as possible. At the hospital, the victim will be injected with a special serum that neutralizes the toxic substance.

Despite the fact that no deaths as a result of a viper bite have been recorded for quite a long time, its venom may cause health problems. That is why it is necessary to react quickly enough and be sure to go to the doctor.

Few can boast that they have a favorable attitude toward “creeping reptiles.” Although, in the European part of Russia it is rare to encounter a poisonous snake. Much more often, mushroom pickers, fishermen and hunters encounter the common grass snake, which is mistaken for a poisonous viper. These snakes, of course, have similarities, but in a moment of danger it is better to know exactly who is in front of you - a harmless snake or its dangerous brother.

Appearance

Snakes Quite large snakes. Some individuals reach a length of one and a half meters, although the more common size is about 75 cm. The predominant colors are gray and black, sometimes olive with spots that are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. On the snake’s body you can see a transition of colors: the closer to the head, the lighter the color. A distinctive feature of all snakes is yellow, white or orange spots on the head and in the ear area. They are called “yellow ears”. The head of the snake has a slightly oval shape, the tail is long and thin. And finally, colubrids do not have poisonous teeth.

Snake head (note the yellow spots)

- the snake is small. The largest individuals reach 50 cm. But you shouldn’t focus on the colors, since in vipers they are too varied: from gray and black to purple. There is one more distinctive feature, but it may also be absent in some individuals; this is a dark zigzag on the back, which stretches throughout the body. The viper's tail is short, rounded, and its body is thick. The muzzle is shaped like a triangle.

Habitat

Snakes love dampness and swim well, so they can often be found near bodies of water. But the main reason for choosing a habitat is that the favorite delicacy of snakes is frogs. Sometimes, in order to feast on frogs, snakes penetrate into vegetable gardens and summer cottages, where they sow panic among summer residents. Snakes hide under tree roots, stones, and in mouse holes. In captivity, the snake can be tamed; it easily adapts to new living conditions.

The diet of the viper is dominated by voles, and accordingly, the habitat of these poisonous snakes is limited to forests, where there are dense thickets and the opportunity to hide from prying eyes. But in captivity, vipers do not live long, as they refuse any food and soon die from exhaustion.

Character

Snakes are non-aggressive. They will never attack a person first. If you catch it, then after a short resistance and imitation of the viper (hissing, trying to bite the offender), it will pretend to be dead. Another option for protection is an unpleasant odor, which is emitted when there is danger. It scares away many animals.

The viper also tries to stay away from people, but if it is touched or provoked, it will attack. This snake is ready to take revenge on any offender, even if it is an inanimate object. She does this for a long time and frantically, not paying attention to the size of the offender and his attitude towards attacks on her part. There are cases when a viper fought with a stick, a stone, and even its own shadow, which seemed dangerous to it.

Conclusions website

1. Snakes are longer than vipers and have a thinner and elongated body.
2. Snakes have a distinctive coloring feature - “yellow ears”; many vipers have a zigzag stripe along the back.
3. Snakes have an oval head, while vipers have a triangular head.
4. The absence of poisonous teeth is the main characteristic of snakes.
5. Snakes are more often found near bodies of water; vipers prefer forests.
6. Snakes feed on frogs, vipers mainly on mice.
7. Colubrids easily tolerate captivity; vipers survive exclusively in the natural environment.

Even in the century before last, an ordinary person could calmly settle in a peasant’s yard without fearing for his life. The villagers were afraid to kill an uninvited guest because of the superstitious fear of bringing disaster to their home.

Appearance, description of an ordinary grass snake

The reptile belongs to the family of colubrids, differing from its friends in the snake kingdom by yellow “ears” - symmetrical markings on the head (closer to the neck). The spots can be lemon, orange, off-white or completely invisible.

The size of the average individual does not exceed 1 m, but there are also more respectable specimens (1.5-2 m each). Males are much smaller than females. The head of the snake is noticeably separated from the neck, and the body is 3-5 times longer than the tail.

The top of the snake’s body can be painted dark gray, brown or olive, diluted with a dark “checkerboard” pattern. The belly is light gray or off-white, with a dark longitudinal stripe in the center. In some individuals this stripe occupies the entire lower side. Among the snakes there are both albinos and melanists.

Similarity to a viper

This is interesting! The benign snake has a few things in common with the poisonous viper: favorite places of relaxation (forest, ponds, lawns) and the desire to avoid collisions with people.

True, the viper is less likely to maintain composure and attack a person at the first careless movement.

There are many more differences between reptiles:

• it is longer, slimmer than a viper and has a smoother transition from body to tail;
• yellow spots stand out on the head of the snake, and a zigzag stripe stretches along the back of the viper;
• the snake has an oval, slightly ovoid head, while the viper’s is triangular and resembles a spear;
• snakes do not have poisonous teeth;
• Snakes have vertical or round pupils (similar to a cat’s), and vipers have transverse pupils, like sticks;
• snakes eat frogs, and vipers prefer mice.

In fact, there are many more differences (for example, in the shape of scales and scutes), but an amateur does not need this knowledge. You wouldn't look at the scales if there was a threat of a snake attack, would you?

Range, habitats

In northern latitudes, the common grass snake can be found from Karelia and Sweden to the Arctic Circle, in southern latitudes - on the northern coast of Africa (all the way to the Sahara). The western border of the range runs along the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula, and the eastern border covers central Mongolia and Transbaikalia.

Snakes adapt to any landscape, even anthropogenic ones, as long as there is a body of water with standing or slowly flowing water nearby.

These snakes live in meadows, forests, river floodplains, steppes, swamps, mountains, gardens, urban wastelands and forested areas. When settling in the city, snakes often end up under wheels, as they like to bask on the asphalt. This is the main reason for the decline in the population of snakes in densely populated areas, although globally there is no need to worry about the number of the species.

Duration and lifestyle

It lives a long time, from 19 to 23 years, and the main condition for its long life is water, which is responsible for the scientific name of the species - natrix (from the Latin natans, translated as “swimmer”).

This is interesting! Snakes drink a lot and swim, making long swims without a specific goal. Their route usually runs along the coast, although some individuals have been seen in the open sea and in the center of huge lakes (tens of kilometers from land).

In the water it moves like all snakes, raising its neck vertically and bending its body and tail in a wave-like manner in the horizontal plane. During the hunt, it dives deeply, and when resting, it lies on the bottom or wraps itself around an underwater snag.

It searches for prey in the mornings/evenings, although the peak of activity occurs during daylight hours. On a clear day, the common snake exposes its sides to the sun on a stump, stone, hummock, fallen trunk or any convenient elevation. At night it crawls into shelter - voids from uprooted roots, accumulations of stones or holes.

Enemies of the common snake

If the snake does not hide before sunset, it will quickly cool down and will not be able to quickly escape from natural enemies, among which are:

• carnivorous mammals including fox, raccoon dog, weasel and hedgehog;
• 40 species of large birds (for example, storks and herons);
• rodents, including rats;
• amphibians such as frogs and toads;
• trout (eats young fish);
• ground beetles and ants (destroy eggs).

Trying to instill fear in the enemy, the snake hisses and flattens the neck area (pretending to be a poisonous snake), folds its body in a zigzag and nervously twitches the end of its tail. The second option is to run away.

This is interesting! Finding itself in the paws of a predator or the hands of a person, the reptile pretends to be dead or splashes itself with a stinking substance secreted by the cloacal glands.

Snakes constantly experience a shortage of reliable shelters, which is why they happily take advantage of the fruits of human activity, inhabiting houses, chicken coops, bathhouses, cellars, bridges, sheds, compost heaps and garbage dumps.

Diet - what does the average person eat?

The gastronomic preferences of the snake are quite monotonous - these are frogs and fish. Periodically, it includes other prey of suitable size in its diet. It can be:

• newts;
• toads;
• lizards;
• chicks (fallen out of the nest);
• newborn water rats;
• insects and their larvae.

Snakes disdain carrion and do not eat plants, but they willingly drink milk when they find themselves in a terrarium.

When hunting for fish, the snake uses a wait-and-see tactic, grabbing the prey with a lightning-fast movement when it swims close enough. Frogs are actively pursued on land, but they do not even try to jump to a safe distance, not seeing the snake as a mortal danger.

He swallows a fish dish without any problems, but eating a frog usually lasts for many hours, since it is not always possible to grab it directly by the head. Like other snakes, it already knows how to stretch its throat, but the angular frog is in no hurry to go into the stomach and sometimes breaks out of its supper mouth. But the executioner is not ready to let go of the victim and grabs him again to continue the meal.

After a hearty lunch, he can go without food for at least five days, and if necessary, for several months.

This is interesting! There is a known case when a forced hunger strike lasted 10 months. He was subjected to this test by a German naturalist who did not feed the experimental subject from June to April. The first feeding of the snake after the hunger strike passed without any deviations from the gastrointestinal tract.

Snake breeding

Puberty occurs at 3-4 years. The mating season lasts from April to May, egg laying occurs in July-August. The mating periods in different regions may not coincide, but they always begin after the end of the first seasonal molting (it usually changes its skin after catching and digesting the first prey). Cases of autumn mating have been recorded, when the female lays eggs after wintering.

Coitus is preceded by the intertwining of several snakes (a female and many males) into a “nuptial ball”, which results in the laying of leathery eggs in quantities ranging from a few to 100 (and even more).

This is interesting! If there are not enough secluded places in the population’s habitat, females create a collective storage of eggs. Eyewitnesses told how they once found a clutch of 1,200 eggs in a forest clearing (under an old door).

The masonry must be protected from drying out and cold, for which the snake seeks out a moist and warm “incubator”, which often becomes a pile of rotten leaves, a thick layer of moss or a rotten stump.

Having laid eggs, the female does not hatch the offspring, leaving them to the mercy of fate. After 5-8 weeks, small cones are born, 11 to 15 cm long, and from the moment of birth they are preoccupied with finding a place to winter.

Not all baby snakes manage to feed themselves before the cold weather, but even hungry kids survive until the spring warmth, except that they develop a little slower than their well-fed sisters and brothers.

Snakes tolerate captivity remarkably well, are easily tamed and undemanding in maintenance. They need a horizontal type terrarium (50*40*40 cm) with the following equipment:

• thermal cord/thermal mat for heating (+30+33 degrees in a warm corner);
• gravel, paper or coconut shavings for the substrate;
• shelter in a warm corner (to maintain humidity it is placed in a ditch with sphagnum moss);
• shelter in a cold corner (dry);
• a spacious container with water so that the snake can swim there, soak in water when molting, and not only quench its thirst;
• UV lamp for daylight.

On sunny days, additional illumination of the terrarium is not required. Once a day it is sprayed with warm water so that the sphagnum always remains moist. The snake's home diet consists of small fish and frogs: it is desirable that the prey show signs of life, otherwise the pet may refuse to eat.

This is interesting! Sometimes snakes are accustomed to defrosted foods. Colubrids are fed 1-2 times a week, large reptiles - even less often. Once a month, mineral supplements are mixed into the food, and mineral water is given instead of regular water. The water in the drinking bowl is changed daily.

If desired, the snake is put into hibernation, for which, with the onset of autumn, the lighting/heating time is reduced from 12 to 4 hours. After you reduce the temperature in the terrarium to +10+12 degrees and stop lighting it, the snake will go into hibernation (up to 2 months). The sleep you simulate will have a beneficial effect on the body of a rested pet.