SNAKES By: MEECHAIEL K. CRINER

WHAT ARE SNAKES While this is not a simple question its good to think of a snake as a lizard without legs. They are cold-blooded creatures, meaning that their body temperatures are determined by their surroundings. Ok so that's the simple answer. Snakes are grouped in the class Reptilians with lizards, turtles and crocodiles. Yet, snakes are quite different from these other species so they are grouped in the order Squamata, which only includes their close relatives the lizards. The following is a quick rundown of snake taxonomy.

How they were born Snakes mate so they can have new babies.Some snakes lay eggs. Snake eggs are not hard like bird eggs. They are soft like leather. The baby snakes break out by using a special egg tooth. They lose the egg tooth after they are born. Some snakes (like copperheads, boa constrictors, rattlesnakes, and garter snakes) give birth to live babies. They do not lay eggs. Once baby snakes are born, they must eat so they can grow.

What happens to their skin Snakes shed their skin by brushing against something hard and rough, like a rock, and creating a rip in their skin. Usually, this rip is initiated in the nose and mouth area. A snake continues to work on this rip until it can shed its skin completely. Snakes shed their skin rather frequently. Many snakes shed more than once per year with some species shedding on a bi-monthly basis. Snakes shed when they grow too big for their skin, comparable to the way humans outgrow clothing. Humans shed skin cells too. However, instead of losing skin cells as one continuous and noticeable piece, humans lose numerous, tiny skin cells each day. No one really notices this shedding, as human skin cells are small enough to escape observation. Interestingly, snakes shed their old skin when their new skin is formed beneath it. The new skin has the same patterns and colors as the old skin that is ready for shedding. When the old skin is shed, however, it doesn’t look exactly the same as its replacement. It takes on a nearly transparent appearance. Snakeskin shedding is not always without incident. It is possible for things to go wrong for the snake. For example, if snakes shed when the humidity in the air is too low, the skin can be too dry to shed. Portions of the old skin that remain attached can harbor parasites or provide a breeding ground for diseases. Furthermore, if the tip of the tail fails to shed correctly, it can cut off the snake’s blood flow over time and actually cause the end portion of the tail to come off. It is possible to identify a snake by the skin it leaves behind. To do so, an individual would simply have to collect as much of the snakeskin as possible and take it to a science museum, a zoo, a science center, or an individual with in-depth knowledge of snakes. To preserve the snakeskin while in transit, it is best to place it in a protective container.

Mating season Mating season for most snakes begins in mid-spring. Unlike most other creatures, snakes have no rituals or competitions involved in the process of mate selection. When male snakes are ready for reproduction, they approach any other snakes they encounter. They use their tongues to detect pheromones given off by other snakes to determine the sex, species and reproductive readiness of the potential mate. If the other snake is another male, a brief fight generally ensues. If the other snake is a female of the same species and is ready to reproduce, the male will begin the process of mating.

The Reproductive Act Females are resistant to mating from the beginning and throughout the process. Male snakes must hold females down with their heads and coil their tails around the female's. The female will continuously try to slither off, dragging the male along as he attempts to line up their cloacae. When successfully aligned--an effort that can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days--the male penetrates the female with one of two penises (known as hemipenes), which then engorges to prevent being shaken out. At this point, the female ceases to resist, and both snakes lie still for the duration of the mating, which typically lasts about an hour.