How Do Snakes Adapt To The Desert? (Snake Adaptations) + (Video) (2024)
Snakes have adapted to harsh, inhospitable environments across the globe. You’ll find them in grasslands, rocky mountain habitats, deserts, rainforests, and the ocean. There are only a few places that snakes don’t live.
Snakes adapt to the desert by using light brown or grey camouflage to blend in with their surroundings. They’ve adapted to the temperature by learning to burrow in dens to shelter from hot temperatures. They also brumate (hibernate) during the harsh and cold winter months.
These snake adaptations to their environment enable them to live in the desert, but life is never easy. Populations are smaller than in less extreme environments, like forests. It’s a testament to their hardy nature that snakes can live in the hottest, harshest habitats on earth.
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How Does a Snake Adapt to its Surroundings?
Snakes need to blend in with their environment. Because they don’t have limbs to defend themselves with, most snakes need patterns and colors (camouflage) that enable them to hide from predators.
Besides that, they also have to adapt to the temperature and humidity of their environment, as well as the prey that’s on offer. Let’s take a closer look at how snakes survive in the desert.
Adaptations to Temperature
The first of many snake adaptations in the desert is to do with temperature. The extreme temperature variations of the desert put snakes and other animals that live there under enormous pressure.
It’s hot during the day, but it can be freezing cold at night. Moreover, while it’s as hot as hot can be during summer, winters are quite bitter. This necessitates behavioral changes in desert snakes.
Rattlesnakes are an excellent example. During the hot summer months, they become more active at night and less active during the day. Because they can’t regulate their body heat, the temperature is life-threatening.
In the spring and fall, when temperatures are more reasonable, they’re especially active during the day and seem to sleep at night instead.
Then, when winter rolls around, desert rattlesnakes brumate for the winter. They have dens called hibernacula, which are naturally occurring holes or gaps in stone.
Depending on the size of the hole, sometimes dozens of rattlesnakes can share the den at once. They use these dens to escape the intense desert sun when it’s too hot, and avoid freezing temperatures when it’s too cold.
Adaptations to Prey
Desert snakes have to get used to the limited prey on offer around them. They do so by eating a broad diet.
Mojave rattlesnakes mostly eat small lizards and rodents which are surprisingly common in the desert. They will eat the following:
Kangaroo rats
Lizards like Mojave desert iguanas, western banded geckos, and banded rock lizards
Carrion (i.e. animals that have already died)
Lizards, birds, or snake eggs
Other snakes
These kinds of prey aren’t unique to deserts. Mountain regions, grasslands, and forest regions all contain rats, eggs and other snakes, for a start.
Their carrion-eating behavior is an example of how being in the desert forces snakes to adapt their diet, though.
Adaptations to Color (Snake Camouflage)
Most snakes have camouflage. Take the western diamondback rattlesnake, the snake that’s responsible for the most fatal snake bites in the U.S. This snake lives in the south-west, from Texas to California, and down south to Mexico too.
They’re a dusty gray and brown color, with white, black or brown blotches all along their body. When they lie in the dry grass or on the forest floor of their natural habitat, they’re hard to spot.
They need to be camouflaged so that nobody can see them. The less visible they are, the more difficult it is for predators like birds of prey to find them.
Not only that, but rattlesnakes practice ambush hunting. This means that they lie in wait for prey to come to them. The harder they are to see, the more likely that prey will come close enough for them to strike.
The sidewinder rattlesnake has adapted its color and pattern to the desert. It’s a dusty, dusky grey and cream color. It has light brown patches along its body, and its underside is white.
Its color and pattern help it blend into their desert habitat, which is dark and sandy. To camouflage themselves further, they even burrow under the sand to lie in wait for their favorite prey, lizards.
Adaptations to Humidity (Lack of Rain)
One of the things that everybody knows about deserts is the lack of rain. Fortunately, rattlesnakes—in fact, almost all snakes—have developed adaptations that allow them to survive with very little water. It’s all down to how they conserve and use it.
When we go to the toilet, we get rid of lots of water. Snakes, by contrast, are much more efficient with the fluids they eat and drink.
They don’t excrete urine in the same way that humans do. When they do, they get rid of a tiny amount each time. Instead, they keep the water in their system to use when they need it.
Because they’re so efficient with water, snakes rarely drink. It’s unclear how and why they drink so little, especially because they don’t get a net gain of fluid from eating.
According to the Journal of Experimental Biology, snakes drink more after they eat rather than before, suggesting that they experience a net loss of fluid as a result of eating prey. This indicates that people who think they get most of their water from prey might be wrong.
So, where do they find water? Well, sometimes it does rain in the desert. When it does, they’ll take advantage by quickly drinking some of the collected raindrops.
Snakes don’t like to drink from still water or streams. They prefer to drink small raindrops, which are fresher and cleaner. They’ll also drink the morning dew if there is any.
According to The Southwestern Naturalist, some desert snakes have even learned to flatten their bodies to collect rainwater and then drink that.
Snakes That Camouflage in The Desert
Some snakes live exclusively in the desert. Others can live in a range of environments, from rocky plains high above sea level to grasslands and deserts, and everywhere in between.
Sidewinder Rattlesnake
The sidewinder rattlesnake is named due to the way it moves. Sidewinding is a unique method of movement, exclusive to just a few species of snake. It’s an adaptation to their environment that scientists are only just beginning to understand.
Sidewinding is a little like galloping, in a way. The snake bops up and down, bouncing a little off the ground, when they reach top speeds.
Essentially, the head thrusts forward and ‘grabs’ onto the ground. The tail then moves up behind, with the rest of the body held in a loop behind the head. The snake then straightens out the coil by moving their head outwards, almost like the striking mechanism.
Why do sidewinder rattlesnakes move the way that they do? It helps them move despite the very loose surface of the sand. But even more importantly, it stops them from overheating.
Because only two points of the snake are in contact with the ground, they don’t absorb as much heat from the scorching desert sand.
Gopher Snake
The gopher snake is California’s most common snake. You can find them everywhere aside from the high mountainous regions in the Sierra Nevada.
To keep out of the summer sun, they hide in pre-made rodent burrows or under rocks, logs, or anything else they can find.
Their pattern helps them blend in anywhere, as it’s a mix of browns, whites, blacks, and creams. Here some fun facts about the gopher snake.
Glossy Snake
Glossy snakes look a lot like gopher snakes, although they’re shinier and their colors are a little more faded. To deal with the heat of the Mojave Desert, they’ve become primarily nocturnal.
They’re mostly inactive during the day, and spend their time hidden in rocky outcrops where they can get some shade.
If possible, they like to burrow in the loose sandy soil to cool down too. They’re happy eating all sorts of desert lizards like iguanas and zebra-tailed lizards, meaning that they’re right at home, even in an arid desert.
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MLA Style: Carter, Lou. "How Do Snakes Adapt To The Desert? (Snake Adaptations) (Video Included)" Snakes For Pets, (December 16, 2020), https://www.snakesforpets.com/how-do-snakes-adapt-to-the-desert/.
APA Style: Carter, L. (December 16, 2020). How Do Snakes Adapt To The Desert? (Snake Adaptations) (Video Included). Snakes For Pets. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.snakesforpets.com/how-do-snakes-adapt-to-the-desert/
The sideways movement of the sidewinder (S-shaped locomotion) is particularly adapted for life in the desert. The side winding motion allows the snake to keep most of its body off the ground while moving. This reduces the body's contact with the hot desert sand and reduces heat absorption into the body.
The sideways movement of the sidewinder (S-shaped locomotion) is particularly adapted for life in the desert. The side winding motion allows the snake to keep most of its body off the ground while moving. This reduces the body's contact with the hot desert sand and reduces heat absorption into the body.
Snakes have many different adaptations that help them to survive within their habitats. A few of their adaptations are: no appendages, flexible jaw mechanism, teeth that are directed backwards, forked tongue used for smelling, variety of patterns of colors (camouflage), defense mechanism such as mimicry, etc.
Snakes are able to use the following behavioral adaptations in order to survive: slithering away from predators, using their tongue to smell, using a defense mechanism, and laying in the sun to get warm. Animals are able to behave in specific ways to survive in the environment.
Cold-bloodedness allows them to stay cool in their hot environment, that is the desert. The body, bones, and organs of rattlesnakes are all protected by their scales. Pit of the rattlesnake is 5mm deep which is responsible for the heat-sensing organ that aids in the detection of warm-blooded prey.
On hot summer days, snakes seek out shade and shelter to stay cool. They're most common in tall grass or beneath cover like rocks, shady trees, decks, or porches. On cooler, overcast days, snakes may come out into the open to sunbathe for longer periods of time.
They slither out of their dens, flatten themselves in a coil shape, and suck the water that collects on their backs into their mouths. Now a team of engineers and biologists has discovered special properties of the reptiles' scales that help the snakes become living rain buckets.
Comparisons between CT scans of the fossil and modern reptiles suggest that snakes lost their legs when their ancestors evolved to live and hunt in burrows, habitats in which many snakes still live today. The findings disprove previous theories that snakes lost their legs in order to live in water.
Snakes who live in the desert move around throughout the day to different places to warm up and cool down. Early in the morning, snakes will lay in the sun to warm up, and during the hottest part of the day, they will go in holes, hide under rocks and bushes, or even bury themselves in the sand to stay cool.
Because they can't regulate their temperature naturally, if a snake is running hot, it's only option is to seek shelter. Most snakes will utilize underground burrows or entrances under large rocks to escape the heat of the day.
Most snakes will seek an escape from the summer heat and will typically find shelter underground. “Snakes don't like it too cold or too hot,” Clay said. “You're going to find them in shady areas in the summertime. If they get caught out in the sun for too long, they'll get too hot and die.
One side should provide proper shade where the snake can hide and stay cool. Large rocks can usually do the trick. The other side of the snake's habitat should provide a constant source of heat, either in sunlight or under a lamp.
Temperatures above 90 degrees Farenheit will cause an snake to overheat and could result in a fever that it can't control. Exposure to temperatures above 95 degrees Farenheit can kill a snake in minutes.
Desert-dwelling snakes inhabit every desert on Earth. From the Australian outback to the desert southwest in North America, you can be sure to find at least one species of potentially dangerous snake. Unlike mammals, snakes need little water to survive, and they're uniquely adapted to life in the desert.
The desert snakes burrow deep into the sand during the day to protect themselves from the heat of the sun that persists through the daytime. The deeper layers of desert sand are cooler and allows them to stay away from the heat. It also prevents water loss from their body.
Similar to other eukaryotic genomes, large proportions of snake genomes contain repetitive DNA, including transposable elements (TEs) and satellite repeats.
The signs vary a lot; although this disease may affect the respiratory or digestive tract, it is generally associated with the nervous system. Affected snakes cannot right themselves when placed on their backs, may appear to be 'star gazing', and may be paralyzed.
They just need the right genetic mutation to help along the limbs they already have. What that means is it's possible for the pythons of today to grow legs—and it doesn't take a whole evolutionary cycle to do so.
An example of a structural adaptation is the way some plants have adapted to life in dry, hot deserts. Plants called succulents have adapted to this climate by storing water in their short, thick stems and leaves. Seasonal migration is an example of a behavioral adaptation.
Okapi are strange animals that look like a combination of a giraffe and a zebra. They live in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it's very hot and where predators such as leopards are always lurking. To survive, okapi use three key adaptations. First, they have scent-glands on their feet to mark their territory.
What Smell Do Snakes Hate? Strong and disrupting smells like sulfur, vinegar, cinnamon, smoke and spice, and foul, bitter, and ammonia-like scents are usually the most common and effective smells against snakes since they have a strong negative reaction to them.
Garlic and onions not only work when planted in your yard, but they also work as a natural snake repellent product as they both contain sulfonic acid which is known to repel snakes. Chop up both garlic and onions and mix them with rock salt.
Examples include the long necks of giraffes for feeding in the tops of trees, the streamlined bodies of aquatic fish and mammals, the light bones of flying birds and mammals, and the long daggerlike canine teeth of carnivores.
An adaptation is a characteristic of a living thing that helps it survive in its environment. An environment includes everything living and non-living in the area that a plant or animal lives in. All living things have adaptations, even humans.
All organisms need to adapt to their habitat to be able to survive. This means adapting to be able to survive the climatic conditions of the ecosystem, predators, and other species that compete for the same food and space.
Camouflage is a common and taxonomically widespread adaptation that many prey species have adopted in order to reduce the likelihood of being either detected or recognized by would-be predators [1].
a modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence. An adaptation is passed from generation to generation. way an organism acts in order to survive or thrive in its environment. physical change in an organism that results over time in reaction to its environment.
Ammonia: Snakes dislike the odor of ammonia so one option is to spray it around any affected areas. Another option is to soak a rug in ammonia and place it in an unsealed bag near any areas inhabited by snakes to deter them away.
Closed-eye hallucinations are related to a scientific process called phosphenes. These occur as a result of the constant activity between neurons in the brain and your vision. Even when your eyes are closed, you can experience phosphenes. At rest, your retina still continues to produce these electrical charges.
From the get go, the snake appears a certain way on its skin so as to allow it to blend into the environment. This is called camouflage. This ability allows the snake to avoid predators (see nutrition for a list of predators) and also to stalk its prey and strike with its next adaptation.
Reptiles, including snakes, and amphibians brumate over the winter. It's not hibernation, which warm- blooded animals do. Instead, snakes stop eating as the temperature drops, their metabolism slows down, and they look for an underground place to hide from surface temperature changes.
Nocturnal desert animals keep cool by being active at night, whereas some other desert animals get away from the sun's heat by digging underground burrows. Other common adaptations seen in desert animals include big ears, light-colored coats, humps to store fat, and adaptations that help conserve water.
The Western diamondback typically dens on rocky slopes or in small caves that form on the sides of washes. They may hibernate inside a pack rat den or along with other reptiles, such as Gila monsters and desert tortoises.
Cerastes, genus of venomous, desert-dwelling snakes of the viper family, Viperidae. There are two species, the horned viper (C. cerastes), which usually has a spinelike scale above each eye, and the common, or Sahara, sand viper (C. vipera), which lacks these scales.
These underappreciated, sometimes feared, animals play an important role in the high desert ecosystem. Lizards and snakes help control insect and rodent populations. In turn, both are potential meals for birds and mammals.
If a rattlesnake doesn't have a good place to hide when it is this hot, it's in big trouble. A rattlesnake will die when its body temperature gets too far above 110F (Klauber, pg 418-420). If you try and get the mail barefoot at 9am, you know how tough it is for them.
Snakes are cold-blooded animals. This means that as the temperature drops, they become sluggish and lethargic, much like humans do when we get very warm. What is this? Typically, snakes become less active when temperatures dip below 60 degrees.
Rattlesnakes generally enter burmation when the temperature is consistentlly under 60° Fahrenheit (15° Celsius). If you live in a warmer climate like Miami, Baton Rogue, Phoenix, or Los Angeles, rattlesnakes might stay active all year round.
Tough, Well- scaly skin is one adaptation to this type of life. developed lungs; a double-loop circulatory system; a water-conserving excretory system; strong limbs; inter- nal fertilization; and shelled, terrestrial eggs are the other adaptations that have contributed to the success of reptiles on land.
(1) Burrowing in soil to escape high temperature. (2) Losing heat rapidly from the body during high temperature. (3) Bask in sun when temperature is low. (4) Insulating body due to thick fatty dermis.
Unlike amphibians, reptiles breathe only through their lungs and have dry, scaly skin that prevents them from drying out. Amphibians and reptiles are together called herpetofauna, or “herps” for short.
One of the key adaptations that permitted reptiles to live on land was the development of their scaly skin which contains the protein keratin and waxy lipids, reducing water loss from the skin. Due to this occlusive skin, reptiles cannot use their skin for respiration, as do amphibians; all breathe with lungs.
Internal and external features of a snake. snake, Any member of about 19 reptile families (suborder Serpentes, order Squamata) that has no limbs, voice, external ears, or eyelids, only one functional lung, and a long, slender body. About 2,900 snake species are known to exist, most living in the tropics.
Snakes who live in the desert move around throughout the day to different places to warm up and cool down. Early in the morning, snakes will lay in the sun to warm up, and during the hottest part of the day, they will go in holes, hide under rocks and bushes, or even bury themselves in the sand to stay cool.
Desert King snakes live for around 10-20 years on average. 6. The Desert King snake is not only found in the dry arid desert areas but is more commonly found near water and in damp conditions, like the brush lands.
Desert plants have developed three main adaptive strategies: succulence, drought tolerance and drought avoidance. Each of these is a different but effective suite of adaptations for prospering under conditions that would kill plants from other regions.
If a mammal loses its head, it will die almost immediately. But snakes and other ectotherms, which don't need as much oxygen to fuel the brain, can probably live on for minutes or even hours, Penning said. "Severing the head isn't going to cause immediate death in the animal," Penning told Live Science.
To survive the frigid weather, snakes hide away in dens called hibernacula. These can be the burrows of other animals, holes in the ground, or even someone's basem*nt. It mainly needs to be a space that lies below the frost line so the snakes don't freeze to death.
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