Parenting 

Features of the common snake. How does a snake reproduce? Already interesting facts

What people are very interested in is the question of whether snakes are poisonous, how to distinguish them from vipers. But these reptile snakes have quite interesting habits, a way of life, and a diet. The snake family is very numerous. There are more than 1500 types of them. Snakes inhabit all continents except Antarctica, they live in various biotopes, including deserts. Fans of home terrariums are happy to breed these reptiles. Snakes are unpretentious, and care for them is the most minimal. It is terrariumists who are most concerned about the question of when and where snakes lay their eggs, how to get healthy offspring. Let's investigate this problem.

As already mentioned, this is a very large family. It is divided into three groups: real, false snakes and snakes with copperheads. Consider first the genus Natrix. These are real snakes. There are also hundreds of varieties. The most common of these is Natrix natrix, or He is found throughout Europe (except Far North). It is in this form that we form an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat it really is. The photo of this small snake with yellow "ears" serves as a "identikit" for the whole family. Wrong opinion! There are species of snakes without yellow spots - for example, Natris tesselata, which lives in reservoirs Western Europe, Moldova and Ukraine. Not to mention the snakes, pretty big snakes, and copperheads. But they also belong to the snakes. Found among this diverse family and poisonous species. It's just that their secret is not dangerous to humans and, in the worst case, can only lead to swelling around the bite site.

How to distinguish snake from viper

Two bright orange or yellow spots on the sides of the head are not the only distinguishing mark. In snakes, at least real snakes, as well as some false ones, the pupils are round. Whereas in vipers - slit-like, vertically located. Again, this difference is the rule only in our country. In the tropics, there are snakes with slit-like pupils. The color of the viper - black or dark gray - can be found on the backs and sides of its non-venomous counterparts. So what types of snakes are found in our country? Natrix is ​​the most widespread in the European part of Russia. The northern border of its range is the latitude of Vologda. The water one is more thermophilic. In our country, it is found only in the southern Volga region, Kuban and on the Don. And, finally, Rhabdophis tigrina, tiger snake, is found in Primorsky Krai. This species deserves a special mention. It is conditionally 110 centimeters long. If it happens to bite a person with short front teeth, then the wounds are small and there are no symptoms of poisoning. But putting a finger in the mouth of a tiger snake is not recommended - in the literal sense. In the depths of his throat (on the back of the upper jaw) there are also poisonous teeth. The secret causes poisoning that is not inferior in severity to the consequences of

Where does it live

Already, the species of which inhabit various landscapes, up to desert ones, nevertheless “loves” water. It prefers moist, swampy forests or grasslands. The snake keeps near the reservoirs, and the water snake lives in them. But they eat prey, and even more so, these reptiles lay their eggs on land. Tree snakes are found in tropical latitudes. Interestingly, they can only crawl up. Climbing up the trunk, this one freezes, taking on the semblance of a branch, watching for birds. To go down, the snake coils up and jumps. In flight, it straightens the body, draws in the stomach and spreads the ribs. It turns out something like a gutter-hang glider, slowing down the fall. In these tree snakes, the pupil is also slit-like, but located horizontally, which allows you to see a three-dimensional image. The ordinary snake, the description of which we have already given, can reach a length of one and a half meters. It is interesting because it does not shy away from human habitation. Females even lay eggs in chicken coops.

What does it eat

The main food of these reptiles are amphibians. However, what it eats depends entirely on the biotype of its habitat. In the semi-deserts he feeds small rodents, eggs, insects. In the highlands, its diet includes lizards and even snakes. Tree snakes feed on geckos, skinks, gaping birds. The diet of an aquatic species is 60 percent small fish. Young snakes eat tadpoles, insects, newt larvae. There are types of "narrow specialization". For example, fat-headed snakes that live in South-East Asia, know how to get snails out of shells. They stick two front teeth into the soft body of the mollusk and begin to spin like a corkscrew. Egg-eating snakes live throughout Africa. These are small snakes (75 cm maximum). But they can even swallow chicken eggs. The snake simply stretches on the prey like a stocking. Inside her esophagus there is a "tooth" - a process of the spine that pierces the egg. The liquid drains into the stomach, and the snake spits out the flattened shell.

funny habits

A person is more likely to meet a grass snake than a viper. But there are fewer opportunities to catch him, because these reptiles are very agile. In addition, they realize that in a fight with a person they have nothing to defend themselves with. You can meet these snakes with yellow "ears" near housing, as well as in haylofts where snakes lay their eggs. IN springtime these snakes crawl out to bask on thawed patches, on stumps and even on the road. When meeting with a large opponent, he already uses an interesting tactic called "akineza" - a false death. It turns out he has it very convincingly: the body is like a lifeless rope, the eyes are rolled up, the mouth is convulsively open, the tongue has fallen out. Some individuals may even let out a few drops of blood from their mouths. For greater persuasiveness, a smelly secret shoots out of the anus. Few people will have the desire to pick up a half-decomposed corpse. But as soon as you move a sufficient distance, the creeping "Lazarus" resurrects and flies away.

Polozy

These are large snakes, reaching sizes of two or more meters in length. They also have several dozen types. They are also found in our country, especially in the south of the Far East. In the realm of snakes, snakes are excellent sprinters. Small individuals prefer to run away, but large ones can also show aggression towards humans. Despite the fact that snakes are not poisonous, their large, dog-like teeth can cause wounds. Particularly aggressive yellow-bellied snake, which is found in Ukraine, in the countries of the Caucasus and in our Lower Volga region to the Ural River. Being cornered, he rushes right in the face. The spotted snake does not lag behind him in the desire to stand up for himself. Its habitat is middle Asia. And the largest non-venomous snake (unless, of course, you count pythons and boas) is the big-eyed snake. It reaches a length of three and a half meters.

Copperhead

This is a small one. The photo shows a red or brown snake only 50 cm long, which has small dark spots along its back. The copperfish lives in clearings and forest glades, in meadows and in the steppes. Its habitat is from Scandinavia and throughout Europe. We have it in the southern part of the country. Viperophobes mercilessly kill copperheads, confusing them with poisonous snakes. And in vain. Copperheads themselves eat vipers, and sometimes attack adults. However, they do have poison. But it only works on cold-blooded ones - the bite of a copperfish kills lizards in a matter of seconds. But for humans, it is absolutely harmless. false snakes Latin America- Mussurans - feed exclusively on poisonous snakes. This quality is used by farmers in Brazil and Argentina. They breed Mussuran to protect their dwellings and herds from poisonous snakes, which this false snake eats.

reproduction

They mate in spring, usually in April. Terrariumists need to take this into account. "Wintering" - artificial maintenance of pets at temperatures below +10 degrees for a month - will increase the chances of success. Marriage games for snakes take place without much frills. The male, approaching his larger lady, makes rhythmic nods with his head. If she behaves calmly, he approaches her and presses his lower body against her. Sometimes applicants for a female are much more than one. Then the snakes form the so-called "nuptial ball". Males do not fight or bite each other. They are simply trying to push back the opponent and continue the race themselves. In favorable conditions (for example, in a terrarium), two litters per year can be achieved. If it has been replaced by frosts, the reproduction of which is not always subject to strict deadlines, can delay the laying of eggs. In this case, it happens interesting process incomplete incubation. Embryos develop in mature eggs inside the mother's body.

Pregnancy and brood birth

Pregnancy lasts an average of three months. Snakes lay their eggs under lying objects, tree roots, in empty burrows, manure or rotting plant debris. The number of snakes depends on the size of the female. A snake up to 70 cm long lays about 10 eggs, more than a meter - 15-30. Inside the shell is a large yolk surrounded by a thin layer of protein. The eggs of the common grass snake resemble those of a pigeon. But they are fastened "in beads" with a gelatinous substance. Between the periods when the snakes lay their eggs and when the cubs appear, three weeks pass. Newborns are 15 centimeters long, but already fully viable. They feed on worms, snails and various insects. Young growth is easily tamed, takes food from hands.

ordinary snake

scientific classification
Kingdom:

Animals
Type:

chordates
Class:

reptiles
Squad:

scaly
Suborder
Family:

already shaped
Genus:
View:

ordinary snake
International scientific name

Natrix natrix Linnaeus, 1758
View in taxonomic databases
CoL

ordinary snake(lat. Natrix natrix) - the most common species in Russia non-venomous snakes already-shaped families.

Description

Head of common grass snake

The maximum length of the body with a tail in individuals noted in the Saratov region reaches 1095.0 mm. In mature males, the tail is 3.83-4.35, and in females 4.25-5.87 times shorter than the body. Head covered with large correct form shields; prefrontal scutes longer than wide. Parietal - very large, 6.0-8.9 long and 4.5-6.0 mm wide. The width of the frontal shield fits in its length 1.16-1.41 times. Preorbital shields - 1 (98.1%) or 2 (1.9%), postorbital - 1 (1.7%), 2 (5.1%) or 3 (96.2%). There are two or three temporal scutes in the first row. Upper labials, as a rule, 7-8, rarely 6 or 9. Dorsal scales with barely noticeable ribs, lateral smooth. Around the middle of the body in one row 19, rarely 17 or 18 scales. The anal shield is divided.

The color of the dorsal surface of the body is from dark gray, olive to black. On the sides of the head there are large, sometimes merging whitish or yellow spots. The width of such a spot, corresponding to the width of one scale, was noted in 9.3% of individuals, two - 73.1%, three or more - 5.7%; 12.7% of snakes had no spots. The most common individuals with a spot length, equal to the length 2-6 (usually 4) scales. The coloration of the belly and the ventral part of the tail is characterized by the variability of the pattern, which is determined by the combination of dark spots on the scutes and the nature of the manifestation of the central longitudinal white stripe.

Of the nine known subspecies of the grass snake, the nominal subspecies is registered within the Rtishchevsky district. N. n. natrix(Linnaeus, 1758).

Spreading

Already ordinary is distributed throughout Europe, with the exception of the polar and subpolar regions. It also lives in the southern regions of Siberia to Lake Baikal and in the south of the Far East.

The distribution and biotopic distribution of the grass snake in the Saratov region is uneven and is confined mainly to wet areas of intrazonal landscapes; reptiles avoid open dry spaces and agrocenoses. In the Right Bank of the region, it is already found everywhere; high quantitative indicators were recorded in the valleys of the Volga, Khopra, Medveditsa rivers and their tributaries - Tereshki, Chardym, Atkara, Karay, etc. The population density of the species varies from 74-119 ind. / km² (for island ecosystems of the upper zone of the Volgograd reservoir) up to 195 ind. / km² (for the floodplains of the Khoper and Medveditsa rivers).

In the Rtishchevsky district, it was recorded in the Tretyak grove.

Habitat and lifestyle

Common habitats of the species are forest edges, overgrown clearings, shrub thickets along the banks of water bodies and slopes of depressions of ravine-beam systems. They are very common in floodplain moist forb meadows bordering the forest or interspersed with shrubs.

In the conditions of the Saratov region, active snakes are observed from the second half of March to mid-October. Their first appearance is noted in the second half of March - the first half of April. However, their mass appearance in the north of the region, as a rule, occurs in the first - second half of April, and in the south - in the third decade of March - the first half of April.

Common snake can be observed active only during daylight hours, regardless of the season. In spring and autumn, the cycle of snake activity is unimodal, and in summer period, when the morning and evening peaks stand out, it becomes two-peak.

The surface temperature of the substrate during the period of maximum activity of snakes fluctuates in spring time from +12.4 to +26.1 °C and in summer - from +16.6 to +28.4 °C, while their rectal body temperature is from +14.8 to +32.8 °C and from +24.8 to +34.3 °C, respectively. Thus, the dependence of the body temperature of the grass snake on the temperature of the environment during the period of their activity is seasonal. The snakes are active on the surface in daytime at a soil temperature of at least +12 °C. In spring, snakes emerge from their shelters at surface temperatures close to this level. In summer, when the absolute minimum temperature on the soil surface is noticeably higher than the voluntary minimum, snakes move to shady and humid habitats with a stable pattern of microclimatic differences.

When the snakes leave their shelters after the heat subsides, their body temperature first slightly increases, and then gradually decreases until the reptiles leave for the night shelter. This behavior of the snake is associated with thermoregulatory ability: avoiding overheating in one shelter, it goes to another, with more favorable conditions. Thus, the activity of reptiles in the conditions of the north of the Lower Volga region proceeds at a body temperature slightly higher than the ambient temperature, while the temperature from +25.0 to +31.0 °C should be considered optimal.

Common grass snake

The mating season for common snakes begins soon after they leave their wintering shelters, more often in the first half of May. During the mating season, these snakes form clusters of several dozen individuals. Egg laying is observed from the end of June to the second half of July. The timing of development and incubation of eggs varies somewhat depending on the environmental conditions of the habitat of animals and climate indicators season. The number of eggs in a clutch varies from 8 to 19: their dimensions are 15.2-19.8 × 25.7-33.2 mm. Collective clutches are known, created in one of the most favorable places by several females; in such a place you can find several dozen eggs. As a substrate for masonry, snakes prefer manure or rotting plant matter in various types shelters. At the same time, most often such shelters are depressions in rotten stumps, rotting plant debris, abandoned dilapidated minks of birds, such as the sand martin, golden bee-eater. The incubation period at temperatures from +23.5 to +31.9 °C lasts 33-41 (35.1 on average) days.

The appearance of underyearlings with a body and tail length of 151.4-185.0 and 36.0-51.1 mm, respectively, and a weight of 6.0-9.1 g has been observed since the second half of August. At the same time, born males, on average larger than females. After the first molt on days 4-9, young snakes begin to actively hunt, many of them grow within 1-2 months, adding up to 18-29 mm during this time. The body length of underyearlings before wintering reaches 181.2-211.0 mm. Wintering takes place in late September - early October.

Sexual maturity in males occurs in the third, and in females - in the fourth year of life. The minimum length of mature individuals is about 50 cm.

Ordinary is already very mobile: it crawls quickly, climbs trees well and swims well. He gets food more often on the shore than in the water. It does not kill the victim, but swallows it alive by alternate movements of the lower jaws, more often from the head, although there are cases when prey is eaten, grabbed by the hind limb or another part of the body. In case of danger, it regurgitates swallowed prey and, as a rule, flees. As a defensive reaction, it secretes a highly repulsive liquid, which it throws out of the cloaca, and, finally, can long time remain motionless, feigning death. There are known migrations associated with breeding in spring, and in autumn with the search for places for wintering; sometimes they make short migrations in search of food. As shelters, snakes use spaces under logs, stones, rodent burrows. They hibernate in similar, only deeper places, sometimes in outbuildings.

Nutrition

The food spectrum of ordinary snakes is quite diverse, but amphibians are the most preferred food - they make up to 75.0% of the number of animals caught and 86.0% of the utilized biomass. Significantly lower frequency of occurrence of mouse-like rodents; other foods - chicks, fish fry and insects - are present in the diet in very limited quantities, especially in terms of biomass (about 2%). Among amphibians, the lake frog clearly dominates, and the moored frog and green toad are subdominant food. In addition, snakes can easily "switch" to more available and plentiful food when there is a high number of mouse-like rodents in limited areas.

The size of the daily diet of snakes varies widely. Maximum amount food in the stomach of the snake (body weight 329.4 g), caught on July 12, 1984, amounted to 72.8 g. In the contents of the stomach there were 2 lake frogs (69.8 g) and 4 tadpoles (3 g). However, as a rule, the mass of the contents of the stomach does not exceed 40-50 g. In the majority of the studied snakes, only one lake frog with a body weight of 21.2 to 41.7 g was found in the stomach. The largest number The biomass of snakes is utilized in June-July, which is in good agreement with the dynamics of their growth. In August, the feeding intensity of common snakes noticeably decreases; during this period, the main object of hunting for snakes is the lake frog.

Limiting factors and status

The natural enemies of the common snake are birds (great white and gray herons, serpent eagle, black kite) and mammals (common fox, corsac, badger).

Common already belongs to the number of common species of the Saratov region, and in some places it reaches a high number. The species does not need special protection measures.

Literature

  • Fauna of the Saratov region. Book. 4. Amphibians and reptiles: Proc. allowance / G. V. Shlyakhtin, V. G. Tabachishin, E. V. Zavyalov, I. E. Tabachishina. - Saratov: Sarat Publishing House. un-ta, 2005. S. - 76-80

Already - a fast and agile snake. There are signs by which you can distinguish the snake from the viper. Experts and owners of terrariums talk about the intelligence of snakes, but they advise you to remember that not all snakes are harmless.

Common snake, photo by Marek Szczepanek

How to distinguish snake from viper?

Eyes. The pupils of snakes are round, while those of vipers have the shape of a transverse “stick”. characteristic feature most snakes have well-developed eyes:

They have a round, oval or vertical pupil, like a cat's, and often have a brightly colored iris, usually well in harmony with the general color of the body. Snakes, looking for their prey mainly with the help of vision, have greatly enlarged eyes adapted to react to moving objects (Animal Life, Volume 5).

So: the pupils of snakes are round, while those of vipers are in the form of a stick, which is located across the body.

Coloring. The coloration of the snakes is varied. Among them there are snakes of dark olive, brown, brown and even almost black color. Some snakes have variegated skin with bright patterns. It is possible that this is the protective nature of the coloration, the desire to imitate poisonous snakes. The family of snakes is numerous. Therefore, in order not to confuse the snake with a poisonous snake, you need to know the characteristics of precisely those species that are found in a particular area. Consider three types of the genus snakes (Natrix) subfamilies Real snakes (Colubrinae).

ordinary snake “distinguishes well from all our other snakes with two large, clearly visible light spots (yellow, orange, off-white) located on the sides of the head. These spots have a semi-lunar shape, and are bordered in front and behind by black stripes. There are individuals in which light spots are weakly expressed or absent. The color of the upper side of the body is from dark gray to black, the belly is white, with irregular black spots ”(“ Animal Life, Volume 5).

Perhaps the advice of a well-known snake-catcher will help someone:

It was quite simple to distinguish a snake from a viper: the snake has yellow or red spots on its head that look like ears, and its body is monotonous - dark gray or black. Vipers do not have “ears” on their heads, their bodies are gray or reddish, and a zigzag stripe stands out sharply on their backs (A Nedyalkov. A naturalist in search).

Water already colored differently. This snake is different from the common snake, although it often coexists with it.

The color of the back is olive, olive-gray, olive-greenish or brownish in color with dark more or less checkerboard spots or with narrow dark transverse stripes. There is often a dark spot on the back of the head, shaped latin letter V, pointing towards the head. Belly yellowish to reddish, mottled with more or less rectangular black spots. Occasionally there are specimens completely devoid of a dark pattern on the body or completely black (“Animal Life”, volume 5).

Zmeelov A. Nedyalkov warns that it is dangerous to rely only on the color of the snake's skin. Once a viper taught him a lesson that could have ended in tragedy:

I did not yet know that there were vipers painted solid black, and for my ignorance I almost paid a heavy price.

One day I was walking through the forest after rain and saw that a black body stretched across the path large snake. The snake's head was hidden in the grass. The black body means not a viper, but already. I really needed a big one, I bent down and without any precautions took the snake bare hand for the torso. The snake hissed. Snakes, when they are picked up, usually do not hiss. The catcher's reflex worked for me, and with my other hand I grabbed the snake by the neck so that it could not reach me with its teeth. I look - and she has a pupil in the shape of a wand. Viper!

I was saved from a bite by the fact that the viper was very cold after the rain, and the chilled snakes are rather lethargic and clumsy (A Nedyalkov. Naturalist in search).

Brindle already , which is found on Far East Russia (as well as in Northern China, Korea, Japan), painted brightly and elegantly:

The back is dark green or dark olive (occasionally blue specimens are also found), mottled with more or less clear black transverse stripes or spots, gradually decreasing as they approach the tail. In the anterior third of the body, the spaces between the black spots are painted bright brick red. Under the eye there is an oblique black wedge-shaped strip, with its apex pointing downwards; another black stripe runs from the supraorbital shield to the corner of the mouth. There is a wide black collar on the neck, or on the sides of the neck there are one triangular-shaped spot. The upper lip is yellow, the eyes are large, black ("Animal Life", Volume 5).

Smell. The snakes have another difference from other snakes. Alarmed snakes smell disgusting:

Already waved his tail and doused me with a stream of whitish stinking liquid. The stench was terrible: a mixture of fumes of garlic and some chemical. I almost vomited, but I still threw the grass snake on the shore. I rubbed my skin for an hour and a half with soap, sand, and alcohol, but I could not remove the smell (A. Nedyalkov “Dangerous Paths of a Naturalist”).

It is believed that in those places where snakes are found, there are no vipers. It's a delusion:

In addition to vipers, snakes were also found near the ditches. They say that snakes are at enmity with vipers and kill them. I have seen more than once how snakes and vipers lie side by side and calmly bask in the sun. And I have never seen them fight (A. Nedyalkov "The Naturalist in Search").

Types of snakes

There are many different snakes, but these three species are the most common in our country.

(Natrix natrix) is found in Europe (except the Far North). It is a black or dark gray snake up to 1.5 m in size (usually 1 m, females are larger than males) with two yellow or bright orange spots on the sides of the head. The snake can be found in overgrown bushes near the water, during moist forests and in the swamps. Already ordinary sometimes settles near people's homes: in heaps of garbage in the yard, in sheds, barns, cellars and poultry yards. He often "nails" to chickens and ducks or crawls into stables and barnyards. The snake even lays eggs here that resemble those of a pigeon. A dinner egg is filled with a yolk surrounded by a thin layer of protein. The eggs are covered with a leathery shell. The female lays eggs bound by a gelatinous substance in "beads". Egg-laying can be found in dunghills, in a pile of dry leaves, damp moss, or in loose earth. Eggs can be 15 - 17 (rarely up to 30 pieces). About three weeks pass, and the snakes are born. The length of a duckling that has just hatched from an egg is about 15 cm. It is able to eat worms, snails and various insects.

The common snake hibernates on land: it hides in old burrows made by mammals, crawls under the roots of trees, etc.

Water already (Natris tesselata) lives in southern regions Russia, since it is more thermophilic than ordinary. There are many such snakes in the Volga region and on the Don. Often a water snake is seen in the Crimea (especially on Kerch Peninsula). These snakes keep near water, not only fresh, but also salty. They are great swimmers (even with a big wave) and dive. They feed on frogs, tadpoles, small fish(gobies) and even shrimp. Rarely by small mammals and birds. In order to make it easier for the snake to swallow the fish, the snake holds it in its mouth and swims to the shore. There he finds support for his body, settles comfortably near it, after which he proceeds to swallow the prey. These snakes hide from the heat underwater. Snakes sleep in dry grass, in hay, climb into rodent burrows, under stones. In the morning, water snakes slowly crawl out onto the banks of rivers and reservoirs. Snakes hibernate under stones, in crevices and in dense bushes.

already brindle (Rhabdophis tigrina) in Russia is found in the south of the Far East (Primorsky Krai, near Khabarovsk) in wet areas near water, in forests and meadows. They are seen even in cities. The length of the snake is about 110 cm. It already feeds on frogs, toads, small rodents and fish. This snake is considered conditionally venomous, as its poisonous teeth are located deep in the mouth (on the back of the maxillary bone).

For human bites tiger snake, usually applied by short front teeth, pass without a trace. However, in cases where the bite is applied by enlarged posterior maxillary teeth lying in the depths of the mouth, and saliva and the secretion of the upper labial glands enter the wound in large quantities, it may occur severe poisoning, not inferior in its severity to that of the bite of real poisonous snakes ("Life of animals, volume 5).

Nutrition of snakes

Snakes swim well and often get their food not only on land, but also in water. The diet of snakes mainly consists of small vertebrates: amphibians and reptiles. However, there are lovers of rodents, birds and fish. Frogs are a delicacy for snakes. He catches them in the water and on the shore. Hungry already swallows several small frogs at once. In the water, he preys on tadpoles and fish.

Watching him eat is annoying. He swallows the frogs alive, just as some people swallow live oysters. The discrepancy between the size of the frog and the snake makes the process of eating a terrible sight - a big mouth of a snake with a small head, a thin body in which a swallowed frog sticks out with a terrible knot ... As a child, I somehow got caught with such a knot around my neck. I poked it with a stick - a living and unharmed frog jumped out from the inside, it was still crawling, but it was completely white: the stomach juice of the snake had discolored it (Hans Scherfig "The Pond").

The snake is said to hypnotize its prey. Outwardly, it looks exactly like this. A. Nedyalkov saw with his own eyes how the frog obediently approached the snake:

I have been told many times that snakes hypnotize frogs. But this time the "hypnosis" did not take place. In order to see everything better, I took a branch of the bush. The frog noticed the movement of the branch and made a desperate jump, turning over its head in the air. He continued to lie still. Looking closely, I saw that from time to time he throws out a forked tongue from his closed lips. I did not disturb the snake and returned to my place. Five minutes later, near the same bush, the frog purred again. I went back to the bush. He was already lying in the same place, and the frog again purred and crept up to him. She did not jump, but, carefully rearranging her paws, she crawled like soldiers crawl in a plastunsky way. This time I did not move the branches, and soon the frog approached the snake at a distance of twenty centimeters. Suddenly he rushed to the frog and grabbed it by the end of the muzzle with his mouth. The frog thrashed, but she could not escape. Fingering his jaws, he grabbed her tighter and tighter. The frog no longer purred, but desperately scraped the snake's head with its paws. The jaws of the snake kept moving and moving. The frog's eyes were already at the very edge of its mouth. I felt sorry for the wah, and I pushed the snake with the end of the grabber. He didn't immediately let go of his prey. Only after I squeezed his neck quite hard with a gripper did he open his mouth and the frog escaped. She immediately jumped into the grass, and only slipped into the thick of the bush ... I don’t think that I could hypnotize the frog. Most likely, she noticed his moving tongue, mistook this tongue for a worm, wanted to eat this worm and herself became the prey of the snake (A. Nedyalkov “The Naturalist in Search”).

Manual already

Already kept in captivity since the time ancient rome. Then they caught mice. Nowadays, there are also lovers who keep snakes at home. They advise designing a terrarium as a “forest + pond”. It is advisable to feed snakes with frogs and live small fish. Snakes are considered intelligent snakes that are able to get used to humans. Here is what Hans Scherfig recalls about the acquaintance in the book “The Pond”:

He was so sweet and kind. A real domestic already, which was not afraid of people. He even got rid of the old bad habit of hissing and emitting an unpleasant smell when you touch him. Frightened snakes smell like garlic.

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Even in the century before last, an ordinary one could calmly settle in a peasant yard, without fear for his life. The villagers were afraid to kill an intruder because of the superstitious fear of bringing trouble to their home.

Appearance, description of an ordinary snake

The reptile belongs to the already-shaped family, differing from its girlfriends in the snake kingdom with yellow “ears” - symmetrical marks on the head (closer to the neck). Spots are lemon, orange, off-white or completely invisible.

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

The top of the snake body can be painted in dark gray, brown or olive color, diluted with a dark "chess" pattern. Belly - light gray or off-white, with a dark longitudinal stripe in the center. In some individuals, this strip occupies the entire lower side. Among snakes there are both albinos and melanists.

Similarity to a viper

This is interesting! The harmless snake is related to poisonous viper little: favorite places relaxation (forest, ponds, lawns) and the desire to avoid collision with people.

True, the viper rarely retains composure and attacks 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 strip stretches along the back of the viper;
  • the snake has an oval, slightly ovoid head, while that of the viper is triangular and resembles a spear;
  • snakes do not have poisonous teeth;
  • snakes have pupils that are vertical or round (similar to those of a cat), while vipers have pupils that are transverse, like sticks;
  • snakes eat frogs, and vipers prefer mice.

In fact, there are many more differences (for example, in the form of scales and scutes), but an amateur does not need this knowledge. You won't look at the scales when threatened by a snake attack, will you?

Range, habitats

IN northern latitudes common snake can be found from Karelia and Sweden to the Arctic Circle, in the south - on the northern coast of Africa (up to the Sahara). The western border of the range runs along British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula, and the eastern one captures central Mongolia and Transbaikalia.

Snakes adapt to any landscape, even anthropogenic, as long as there is a pond with stagnant or slowly flowing water nearby.

These snakes live in a meadow, in a forest, a river floodplain, a steppe, a swamp, mountains, gardens, city wastelands and forest park areas. Settling in the city, snakes often find themselves under the wheels, as they like to bask on the pavement. This is the main reason for the decline in the population of snakes in a densely populated area, although in global terms, there is no need to worry about the number of the species.

Length and lifestyle

Already lives a lot, 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! The snakes drink and bathe a lot, 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 (at a distance of tens of kilometers from land).

In water, it already moves like all snakes, vertically raising its neck and wave-like bending of the body and tail in a horizontal plane. While hunting, it dives deep, 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, an ordinary one exposes its sides to the sun on a stump, stone, hummock, fallen trunk, or any convenient elevation. At night, it crawls into a shelter - voids from uprooted roots, a cluster of stones or burrows.

Enemies of 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:

  • predatory 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 animals);
  • ground beetles and ants (destroy eggs).

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

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

The snakes are constantly experiencing a shortage of reliable shelters, which is why they enjoy the fruits of human activity, settling in houses, chicken coops, baths, cellars, bridges, sheds, compost heaps and garbage dumps.

Diet - what does an ordinary person eat

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

  • newts;
  • toads;
  • lizards;
  • chicks (dropped 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 are in a terrarium.

When hunting for fish, it already uses a waiting tactic, grabbing the victim with a lightning movement when it swims close enough. The frogs are already actively pursued on land, but they do not even try to jump to a safe distance, not seeing a mortal danger in the snake.

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

After a hearty meal, they 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 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.. Periods mating games in different regions may not coincide, but always start at the end of the first seasonal molt(already usually changes the skin, catching and digesting the first prey). Cases of autumn mating have been recorded, then the female lays eggs after wintering.

Coition is preceded by the interlacing of several snakes (female and many males) into a "nuptial ball", which results in the laying of leathery eggs in an amount from a few to 100 (and even more).

This is interesting! If there are not enough secluded places in the habitat of the population, the females create a collective storage of eggs. Eyewitnesses told how they once found a clutch of 1200 eggs in a forest clearing (under an old door).

The masonry must be protected from drying out and cold, for which the snake is looking for 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 incubate the offspring, leaving it to the mercy of fate. After 5-8 weeks, small snakes 11 to 15 cm long are born, from the moment of birth they are preoccupied with finding a place for wintering.

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

Snakes remarkably tolerate captivity, are easily tamed and undemanding in content. 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 flakes for the substrate;
  • shelter in a warm corner (to maintain humidity, it is placed in a cuvette with sphagnum);
  • shelter in a cold corner (dry);
  • a capacious container with water so that the snake swims there, gets wet during molting, and not only quenches thirst;
  • UV lamp for daylight.

IN 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. home diet the snake 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 thawed foods. They feed already-shaped 1-2 times a week, large reptiles- even less often. Once a month, mineral supplements are mixed into food, and mineral water is given instead of ordinary water. The water in the drinker is changed daily.

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




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Kingdom: Animals

Common snake (lat. Natrix natrix) is the most common type of real snakes in Russia, non-poisonous snakes from the family of snakes.



If the coloring of an ordinary grass snake you meet is typical, you will immediately recognize it. Typicality is determined by the dark brown, dark gray or black coloration of the upper side of the body without any pattern, but with bright yellow or orange spots, a kind of "stop lights" located on the sides of the head. Usually the spots are oval in shape, very rarely there are such snakes in which the spots are very weakly expressed or absent altogether. The ventral side of the body in all ordinary snakes, regardless of the color of the upper body, is off-white or gray with dark spots that form an indefinite pattern.



Females are larger than males, sometimes reaching up to 1.5 meters, but most often they are no more than a meter in size.



already inhabits North Africa, Europe, except for the northernmost parts, and Asia east to Central Mongolia.


Habitats are very diverse, but certainly quite humid - near reservoirs and calm rivers, swamps, in humid forests, but sometimes they are even found in open steppes and mountains. They often live in vegetable gardens, gardens, barnyards and sometimes crawl into outbuildings. In spring, and also in autumn, when the soil stores a lot of moisture, snakes can go far from water.


Snakes swim well, raising their heads above the surface of the water and leaving characteristic ripples behind them, so they can be easily seen while moving through the water. They can also be under water for several tens of minutes. Common snakes are very active, agile snakes, they crawl quickly, and can climb trees.


They feed mainly on frogs, newts, small fish, lizards, mice and voles, small birds and large insects. The snakes pursue their prey and, having overtaken it, grab it with their mouths in order to immediately begin to swallow it alive, thrusting the prey into the open mouth by alternately retracting the right and left halves of the lower jaw, armed with sharp teeth bent back, with which they can no longer chew food. If at this moment an enemy attacks him, then he already has to burp his prey, and save himself. At the same time, prey that has been inside the snake (for example, a frog) often remains alive.



The snakes have many enemies: they are attacked by serpent eagles, kites, less often by storks, and from animals - foxes, badgers, raccoon dogs, minks, martens. In addition, rats often eat laying eggs and young snakes. When defending, it already becomes defensive, hisses, even tries to bite, but does this only when it is impossible to run away. When caught, he squirms, but the only weapon he uses is the foul-smelling excrement that he splashes on his enemy. But they are persistent by nature, and the one who had to fall under such a “shower” will remember the unpleasant sensation for a long time, although the liquid no longer causes irritation on the skin, it only affects the sense of smell.


The caught one already defends himself in two ways: active (throws out a portion of smelly liquid from the cloaca) and passive (falls into a state of imaginary death, relaxing the body and sticking out his tongue from his wide-open mouth).



In places of permanent habitat of snakes and other snakes, you can often find their "shirts", crawling out. They are very thin and almost transparent. Crawls are a skin that has lagged behind the body, or rather a cuticle, which is shed by snakes several times a year, but only during the period of active activity, from about April to September. In winter, snakes and snakes in general, while in shelters, do not shed. Interestingly, during molting, a transparent film comes off simultaneously with the cuticle and eyes, so before molting, for several days, the eyes of snakes look cloudy, as if they are wearing protective smoky glasses. The whole body loses its natural color before molting, it becomes faded and dull, but a molted snake is always very spectacular, all its patterns, strokes, colors and their shades are visible. The eyes become light, transparent with well-distinguishable pupils. The eyes of snakes are always open, they do not have blinking eyelids, and this feature has given rise to tall tales about the hypnotic abilities of snakes, about miraculous power piercing snake eyes. Usually the skin comes off the snake's body in a "stocking", but with abnormal molting, it lags behind the skin in parts, shreds. At the same time, the snake crawls a lot, rubs against stones, tree bark and other roughness, in order to quickly get rid of the remnants of the cuticle that disturb it.


Winter snakes spend, like all reptiles, in shelters. After hibernation, they have a breeding time, the mating season is April-May. At this time, snakes gather in groups, form balls of intertwined bodies of males and females in different proportions, but more often the number of males is several times higher than the number of females.



Female snakes begin to lay eggs in July-August, in humid and warm places. Heaps of humus, old straw, fallen leaves are ideal for this. Rotten stumps, damp moss, mouse holes will also do. At one time, the female lays up to 6 to 30 eggs.



Eggs of snakes have an elongated, oval shape, covered with a white leathery opaque shell, elastic to the touch. Average length eggs 25-30, and width 18-20 mm. One female for summer season lays 10-30 eggs, usually once, rarely twice. Newly laid eggs are sticky and, during laying, are glued together by shells, forming chains or shapeless lumps. Egg development lasts about 2 months, and in cold weather up to 90 days. Shortened after hatching from eggs have a body length with a tail of 130-150 mm.



He has already earned the title of a good-natured animal, since he almost never puts his teeth into a case against a person; in addition, he gets along well, both in freedom and in captivity, with other animals.



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