SNAKES Snakes are reptiles Reptiles are cold blooded animals covered with scales Snakes have long thin bodies with no legs 4 Snakes live everywhere in the world except Antarctica and a few islands They make their homes in deserts wet lands prairies and tropical rainforests Scientists have discovered about 2,900 species of snake
Vipers live in the Americas Europe Asia and Africa 5
6 The dwarf puff adder moves sideways through African sand
SNAKE SENSE The smallest snake in the world is about the size of an earthworm But the biggest snakes can be more than 30 feet g n d w a s 6 1 feet 1 9 m lo r o T h e longest Cape cobra on r e c 9 1 m long and weigh more than 2 grown men Some snakes are bright colors Others are dull brown or gray to help them blend in with their surroundings 7 Snakes cannot see or hear well Instead they feel vibrations in the ground To smell a snake tastes odors in the air with its forked tongue It touches its tongue to the roof of its mouth The odors pass through two holes called the Jacobson’s organ there Some snakes can sense body heat too
