Florida Wildlife Control & Animal Pest Removal

About Snakes

Snakes (Serpentes) are cold-blooded legless, carnivorous reptiles, close relatives of lizards, which belong to the same order - Scaly. The Florida snakes are classified into 15 different families consisting of about 456 genera and over 3,000 species. Their length reaches from 10 cm (Leptotyphlopscarlae) to over 11, 5 m (Green anaconda).


Appearance
The skin of the snakes is covered with scales. Most of them use special belly scales to move, "digging" the surface below. The scales may be granular, keeled or smooth. The covering of their eyes is transparent skin, which is actually permanently closed. Snakes change their skin periodically, which is a sign of growth. The skeleton of the snakes consists only of a skull, hyoid bone, spine and ribs. The skull of the snake consists of hard and rigidly attached bones protecting the brain. Snake vision is not very good (usually it is better in tree snakes and worse in those who live underground). However, the Florida snakes are able to distinguish movement.

Diet
Snakes are carnivorous and feed on animals, starting with small newborn mice, eggs of insects, rats, rabbits, birds, and certain species of Florida snakes and lizards. Some use poison to kill their prey before eating it. Others kill the animal by wrapping around it and started squeezing it until suffocation, then eat it from the head down. Snakes do not chew their food. They have very flexible jaw, whose upper and lower parts are not rigidly attached, and can be disconnected, allowing them to open their mouth wide enough to swallow the victim (even when it is bigger in size from the snake itself). After eating snakes become sluggish, during the digestion.

Snake poison
Snake poison is a complex mixture of proteins and is formed and stored in special glands in the back of the snake’s head. In any poisonous snakes these glands are poured through channels in the grooved or hollow teeth of the upper jaw. In some snakes these teeth are disposed in front of the mouth and are hollow so as to inject poison more efficiently, while the snake’spoison teeth pass in an open slot on the back side of the tooth.

Life circle
Although Florida snakes use different breeding strategies in common is the presence of internal fertilization. One of the most common breeding strategies is the deposition of eggs, like most snakes abandon the nest after laying the eggs.Other types of snakes keep their eggs in your body until hatching the eggs. Snake lifespan in the wild is more difficult to determine. In captivity, some species will live as long as 50 years.

Habitat
Snakes need warm temperatures and can live almost anywhere in the world. They are cold blooded, so that they are not able to regulate its temperature. They may slow down body metabolism although at a very low point of living. This means that they can go into a state of hibernation when there is no food and when temperatures are just too cold for them to survive.

Behavior
Despite the lack of legs, the snakes have many methods of mobility. All species are capable of lateral deflection, like the wave - it is used for easier movement through the mud or sand. Other method of movement is to move through the convergence and divergence of ribs. This method can even be used for climbing trees and moving through narrow tunnels. When climbing trees, the branch attaches the back half of the body of the snake, while the front stretch upward. Then the front half includes the branch and the back part moves upward. When traveling in tunnels the body is pressed by expanding and releasing onto the walls of the tunnel. Not all snakes live on the land - Florida sea snakes live in shallow tropical seas. Snakes are one of the most hated animals. The fear of them is understandable, but from 2700 all species only 410 are poisonous. The most important thing to remember is that a snake won’t attack if you do not irritate it. So, if you meet with these wonderful creatures you just need to overlook them. When you are outside for a walk is better to wear appropriate shoes and socks, and also to watch your step. The snakes feel the vibrations on the earth and feel a man coming many before he found the snake. Snakes prefer to withdraw or maintain their position. The man is too big for them and they avoid direct contact with him. The snake is not interested in man as he is neither its victim nor natural enemy. Snakes prefer to hide from us before threaten us in any way.

We service the following areas: Boca Raton, Bradenton, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Melbourne, Miami, Naples, Ocala, Port Saint Lucie, Saint Augustine, Sarasota, Tampa, and West Palm Beach

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