Reproduction

All living creatures are motivated by two overwhelming primal instincts. These are survival of
the individual and survival of the species as a whole.

In the realm of the first instinct falls the daily routine of foraging for food, finding shelter against
the hostile elements and defence against, or avoidance of, predation.

In the realm of the second falls the annual rituals of seeking a mate, mating and producing
offspring.

Sex and reproduction amongst serpents is of necessity brief. Snakes are loners who do not tend
to live with, or care for, mates. Snakes tend to avoid others of their kind as it means competition
for food resources. They are not usually hostile during chance meetings though. Neither is a
snake much of a mother. The young must fend for themselves the moment they are born.

Sexual Meeting:

In spring, or when it gets warmer, sexually active males will approach any other snake they see -
and the reaction of the approached will then determine the outcome of the encounter. If the
approached is a male and it acts aggressively a battle will usually immediately ensue. These
battles vary from species to species. Elapids and Vipers tend to indulge in a form of ritualised
wrestling and no biting takes place. Colubrids on the other hand can get very violent and bite
each other severely. Certain species indulge in no combat but follow the female in amicable
groups.

Should the approached not react in any particular manner the male snake will then begin the
preliminaries to the sexual act. Using the vomeronasal organ, which gets its data from the
tongue, the male will determine chemically what sex and species the approached is by the
pheromones emitted from its skin. If it is not a sexually receptive female of the right species the
male will quickly move off in search of a new mate.

Should the approached snake be a receptive female

the male will then attempt to mate with her. He will
place his head on her back, wind his tail around hers
and attempt to join their cloacas together. However
the female seldom permits such an uncomplicated
act and she usually moves off while he is trying to
mate. The male usually only succeeds after many
hours - or sometimes days - of trying.
Snakes mating
The sexual organs of the male
consist of two penises - called
hemipenes. The hemipene is
covered with flexible spines.
Once the male succeeds in
penetrating the cloaca of the
female with one of his
hemipenes it will inflate and
the flexible spines will prevent
it from being easily dislodged.
The coupling usually last for
an hour or two but sometimes
it is as little as a few minutes
to as long as a two days. The
couple generally lie still
throughout the mating but in
some cases the female will
pull the male along with her as A hemipene
she moves. After mating it is
normal for the male to stay
close by the female for a few
days and then to couple again.

What came first? The snake or the egg?

Approximately 70% of snake species are

oviparous. This means the female deposits a
number of eggs in a carefully chosen spot.
Temperature and humidity must be just right and
gravid females will travel great distances to find
the correct spot for laying their eggs.

Snake laying an egg

 In rare instances the female will "stand guard"
over her eggs - never straying far from where
they were laid and fighting off predators who
would consume them. Some cobras in India are
observed to do this. Only one snake actually
builds a nest into which the eggs are deposited -
the King Cobra (Ophiphagous hannah). The
female King Cobra will coil around her nest and
guard it.
Egg hatching - the hatchling has just cut
through the egg shell with its egg tooth

Many pythons take real care of their eggs - incubating them by regulating temperature by
muscular action of their own bodies. They both care for and protect their eggs.

The other 30% of snakes give live birth. They are

ovovivaparous. Which means they hatch their
eggs within their bodies. Nearly all snakes living
in cold climates use this method.

Snake giving birth to live young

Embryonic development.

Fertilization - the ovule and the spermatozoid meeting - takes place high up in the oviduct. (see
Anatomy) The fertilised egg then moves down into the oviduct where the uterine glands secrete
substances to surround it. The nature of these substances depends on whether the egg is to be laid
or gestated within the body. The length of embryonic development depends on species, and
within the species on temperature.

The variations are great with a range of 2 to 5 months encompassing most species.

Fecundity.

The clutch of eggs produced by the female shows just as vast a range as gestation times, with
between 2 and 50 being within the norm. However the usual range is between 4 and 16 eggs. As
females age and increase in size bigger clutches are produced. Another factor influencing clutch
size is the frequency of reproduction.

Most ovovivaparous snakes have a litter annually.

Growth and Maturity.

A newborn hatchling is a perfect miniature replica of the snake which gave birth to it - except for
its head which is proportionately larger. It has to fend for itself from the moment it is born.
Mortality among infant snakes is very high and predation great.

The growth of a newborn snake is indeterminate and continuous. It depends on availability of

nutrients and frequency of feeding. Another factor influencing the rate of growth is temperature.
In the tropics snakes tend to grow much faster than in temperate climates. All of these factors
influence sexual maturity - even within a single species.

Males tend to mature at a younger age than females. In some areas snakes can be sexually mature
at nine months while a more normal age is around 2 to 3 years. However the range is once again
great. Prairie rattlesnakes in Utah attain sexual maturity at 3 years while in Canada they only do
so at the age of seven.

Different Types of Snakes

There are various kinds of snakes in the world, some poisonous and some non poisonous. Here is
a short description of all types of snakes.

Enlarge Image
Mythologically, the snake is said to be one of the first reptiles on planet Earth. Here is some
information on the types of snakes present in the world.Snakes have played a major role in
mythology, the common snake is called the 'snake', whereas any mythological snake can be
regarded as a 'serpent'. The term serpent comes from Old French, which means 'to creep'.

Though snakes are generally thought to be poisonous, dangerous and basically a threat to
mortality, there are various kinds of snakes, some of them non-poisonous.Venomous, or
poisonous snakes use their fangs in its mouth to either kill or immobilize its prey. The snake uses
venom and modified saliva to achieve this. There are venomous snakes in every family of
snakes.Venomous snakes are classified into four families the Elapids, Viperids, Colubrids and
Hydrophiidae.

The Elapids are found in the sub tropical and tropical regions around the world. They have a set
of fixed hollow fangs which they use to inject the venom in their victim. Their size ranges from
eighteen centimeters to upto five to six meters in length. There are two hundred and thirty one
species in this family. Some Elapids are kraits, king cobras, cobras, mambas, Australian
copperheads and coral snakes.

All the Elapids are venomous. Their venom is neurotoxic and is more dangerous as compared to
viper venoms. The world's most dangerous snake, the black mamba is a member of this family.
The most venomous land snake, the fierce snake is also a member of this family. A type of sea
snake, the Hydrophis belcheri has the most toxic venom compared to all other snakes.

The Viperidae, commonly called vipers, are found all over the world except Madagascar and
Australia. They have relatively long and hinged fangs. These fangs allow the vipers to penetrate
deeper into the flesh. There are about four subfamilies of viperidae, the Azemiopinae, Vipernae,
Crotalinae and the Causinae. Common viperidae are vipers, rattlesnakes, cottonmouths,
bushmasters, adders and copperheads. Viperid venoms have a number of proteases, which are
protein degrading enzymes. These proteases have symptoms like necrosis, blood loss, disruption
of the blood clotting system and strong local swelling.

The Colubrid is from the Colubridae of the snake family. The colubrid's body is completely
covered with scales. They are normally harmless and non-poisonous. However, some snakes of
this family like the Boomslang and the African Twig snake have caused human deaths. Their
fangs are generally at the back of their mouth.

Some of the snakes found in this family are the Queen snake, the Common Keelback, King
Snake, Corn Snake, Bull Snake, Rat Snake, Garter SNake, Smooth Snake, Water Snake
Mussurana and Milk Snake. Other snakes are the boomslangs, mangrove snakes, vine snakes and
tree snakes.

The Queen snake of this family is non-venomous Queen snakes are not more than sixty
centimeters in length.It is either gray, dark brown or olive in color.The Common Keelback is
another non-venomous snake. It is found in drains, ponds and drainage systems. It feeds mainly
on frogs, small fishes and frogs.

The Hydrophidae, or sea snakes are of several different species. They are aquatic than land
dwelling. The group of sea snakes are related to the cobra. They are at the most about some two
meters in length. There are about fifty species of these snakes and almost all of them are
venomous. They have short and hollow fangs located near the front of the upper jaw.

Their venom is made up of neurotoxins and mytotoxins. The fatal dose of their venom is about
1.5 milligram. Sea snakes however do not bite humans and are harmless unless provoked. Their
poison is generally more toxic as compared to venom from land snakes.
Indian Snakes

Indian subcontinent boasts of housing approximately 10 percent

of the total snake species found in the world, adding up to
somewhere around 200 species in number. From warm seas to
semi-deserts, swamps, lakes and even the Himalayan glaciers,
one can find snakes in almost all the habitats in India. The snakes
of India range from Worm Snakes, about 10 cm in length, to the
King Cobra, measuring upto 6 m. In the following lines, we have
mentioned the four most popular species of Indian snakes:

Cobra
Cobra, scientifically known as Naja naja, is one of the poisonous snake species native to the
Indian subcontinent. It grows to an average height of 1 m and has two circular ocelli patterns on
the rear of its hood. These patterns seem to be connected by a curved line, giving the look of
spectacles.

King Cobra
Indian King cobra snake belongs to the Ophiophagus Genus and is scientifically known as
Ophiophagus Hannah. It is believed to be the largest poisonous terrestrial snake, measuring upto
5.7 m in length. However, the weight of a King cobra rarely exceeds 44 lb (20 kg).

Python
Python snake, also known as Ajgar, is one of the most massively built snakes of the Indian
subcontinent. It belongs to the Boidae Family and is dependent on water to quite an extent. One
of the unique features of the Rock pythons of India is that they can raise their body temperature
above the ambient level, through muscular contractions.

Russells Viper
Russells Viper is known by a number of other names, like Daboia, Tic Polonga, etc. A highly
poisonous snake of the Viperidae family, it is scientifically known as Vipera russelli. Indian
Russell's viper is responsible for most of the snakebite deaths within its habitat.

Apart from the above-mentioned species, the following types of snakes are also commonly found
in India:

• Saw Scaled Viper

• Purple Pit Viper
• Krait
• Flower Snake
• Common Rat Snake