The snakes are one of the most controversial animals in the world. While some fear them, others appreciate them, even having them in their own homes as a pet. These reptiles have a series of characteristics that make them fearsome and fascinating at the same time. For example, one of the factors that raises the most doubts is its method of reproduction, which we will talk about next.
Do you want to know how snakes reproduce? Do they lay eggs or give birth? How is fertilization? These and more questions will be answered in this article on our site, so keep reading to discover everything about the reproduction of snakes.
Characteristics of snakes
The group of species that are included within the suborder of the snakes, that is, the group of snakes, is really diverse, with almost 3,000 different speciesDue precisely to this variety, there are great differences between some snakes and others, for example, there are some that barely reach a few centimeters in length while others can reach several meters. They also differ in their defense mechanisms, since some can only bite and others, on the other hand, use powerful poisons or their strength and ability to strangle their prey and aggressors.
However, in general terms, we can define some of the characteristics of the most representative snakes. They are reptiles that lack legs and have an elongated body, their skin is made up of sticky scales that make it easier for them to move and allow them to climb different surfaces. These scales change cyclically or when they have been damaged, performing what is known as the moulting of snakes
Another characteristic is that they are vertebrate animals, with a column made up of many vertebrae, the number of which usually depends on the length of each species. They have a developed musculature, which is especially powerful in their large jaws, between which is a forked tongue or divided in two. Although they don't have good hearing, they do have an amazing sense of smell and "thermal sensors" near their eyes. Likewise, snakes are animals exclusively carnivorous, feeding on different prey, as we will tell later. After reviewing the general characteristics of these animals, we will see in the following sections how snakes reproduce and much more.
Where Do Snakes Live?
Snakes can be found on, practically the entire planet, as they inhabit all places and continents. In general, there are a greater number of species and more numerous populations in places with a warm climate, such as tropical or subtropical regions This is where the greatest diversity of species occurs.
However, some species can withstand even the coldest climates, for example the common European adder is found in an extremely cold climate such as the Arctic Circle. Generally there are no snakes in large urban centers, although there are in towns and places with more green land. There are species terrestrial and aquatic, the latter inhabiting rivers and swamps.
What do snakes eat?
A snake will always be carnivorous, feeding on other animals. Their prey can become up to three times larger than them The way they hunt their prey depends on each species, two types of snake are distinguished according to their shape hunting:
- Constrictors: they kill their prey by surrounding them and suffocating them with their deadly embrace
- Poisonous: they bite their prey, injecting their venom into the bloodstream and from it, which is stunned or dies directly
Snake prey can be insects, small mammals, other snakes and even large animals. When they have their prey, since they cannot chew it, they swallow it whole, carrying out a slow digestion. This is why snakes sometimes go a long time without hunting again, as digestion can take anywhere from days to even months. In the case of bones or parts that they cannot digest, they usually regurgitate or excrete them.
The reproduction of serpents
Depending on the species, snakes can reproduce by eggs or placental. There are three types of snakes according to their reproduction:
- Ovipara
- Vivipara
- Ovovivípara
So, do snakes lay eggs or give birth?
Mostly snakes are oviparous animals, this means that snakes don't give birth to their young already alive, but rather lay eggs from which the new snakes will later be born. In this sense, the number of eggs, incubation time, or no incubation but maturation of the embryo and characteristics of the egg, such as size, color or shape, depend on each species.
Within the oviparous group, snakes belong to a reproductive category known as internally fertilized oviparous animals, being an animal of sexual reproductionThus, the fertilization of the ovules occurs through a copulation in which the male introduces his reproductive apparatus into that of the female, thus depositing your sperm.
On the other hand, we said that most snake species are oviparous, however, there are also some considered viviparous animals An example of these snakes that do not lay eggs is the boa constrictor. In these species, the mothers gestate the young, having a placenta through which they are fed. When they are born, a birth occurs, in which the pups are born already practically developed.
Between both cases, the oviparous and the viviparous, we find certain species of snake that are ovoviviparous animalsThis type of birth is common in marine animals such as sharks. This is a somewhat special case, because although in these snakes the development of eggs occurs, they remain inside the the mother and do not hatch until the time of delivery, in which the young come out of the egg and inside their mother at the same time.
How do snakes mate?
Snakes exhibit sexual reproduction in which copulation occurs between the male and the female This copulation occurs after a prior courtship, in which it is important to highlight the function of its forked tongue, since it contains the so-called Jacobson's organ, which allows them to distinguish whether other snakes are male or female. The disadvantage is that to know if they are facing a male or a female, they must be very close and if it is two males that meet during the breeding season, it is very easy for them to show aggressive behavior and fight among themselves.
How do snakes reproduce sexually?
Before copulation can take place, an intricate courtship ensues, in which the male has to get the female interested in him, even having to fight to the death with other males who also court the female. To be more conspicuous to the female, the male resorts tobody movements such as vibrating her tail or adopting postures such as raising his head. He may also be aggressive, biting the female, or simply rubbing against her
When the female is ready for copulation, both twist each other, as if they were the strands of a rope. Between copulation and courtship, the procedure takes many hours to complete.
In the case of snakes, the reproductive system of males is made up of paired and bifurcated hemienes located at the end of their tail. These can be of various shapes, distinguishing between twisted, grooved or hooked. It is this organ that they introduce into the cloaca of the female snake during copulation to carry out fertilization. The cloaca is a cavity that they present at the end of the digestive tract, which they use to release urine and excrement. In the case of the female, it also serves as the means through which the sperm unites with the ovules and thus the embryos are generated.
After depositing the sperm, the male walks away and will probably never see the female he has copulated with again, not getting involved in the care of their offspring.
How many eggs does a snake lay?
When we talk about laying eggs, we are referring exclusively to oviparous or laying snakes, since they are the only ones that lay eggs. When the eggs have formed inside the female, she deposits them outside. In most species the eggs are abandoned by the mother, without any incubation taking place. In other species, the female snake creates a nest in which she lays her eggs and takes care of them, as is the case with pythons.
The number of eggs that make up the clutch depends on the species, with such variability that while some lay an average of between 5-6 eggs others can lay in a single laying more than 100
In the following video you can see a snake laying eggs:
How are vipers born?
Vipers are snakes ovoviviparous, which hatch from eggs gestated by their mother, who keeps them inside her until the pups are born, giving a pseudopartum. These snakes keep their eggs in the oviduct, where they remain until fully developed. Gestation lasts about 80 days, during which the eggs receive nutrients through their mother, reaching them through the placenta, which connects the mother with the pups.
When it is time to give birth, the hatchlings break the egg through a tooth, emerging from the shell and giving birth. It is for this reason that at first glance it might seem that vipers are viviparous, since eggs are not laid. The largest laying in the case of vipers is 6 eggs, although it is not the most frequent, being the usual smaller litters.
In the following video you can see a snake giving birth:
How does a python reproduce?
The pythons are oviparous snakes, which are born from eggs laid by their mother, who incubates them until the young hatch. It is one of the species of snake that generates the most fear, but when the mother is incubating, it is when they are most dangerous.
Such is the fierceness of these mothers that they do not hesitate to attack anyone who could be a threat to their young, regardless of what it is, a bear, a fox or a person, It doesn't matter, they won't hesitate to attack him for the conservation of their eggs.
Also, this is one of the few snake species that performs a incubation of eggs, remaining in a coiled posture on top of these to keep warm.
Curiosities of snakes
To finish, we will answer some frequently asked questions, for example, Do baby snakes have teeth? A huge number of snake breeds they have teeth, even the young. They have a total of four rows of teeth at the top and two rows at the bottom.
And are there species with asexual reproduction? Although we have said that snakes are sexually reproducing animals, there are some exceptions to this regard. Such is the case of species such as the eastern cotton boa (Agkistrodon piscivorus) or the Texas copper snake (Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus). In these snakes, both sexual reproduction and facultative parthenogenesis can occur, which would be asexual and consists of self-fertilization of the ovules, causing cell division without the need for a male to deposit his sperm.
