Snakes

Find out everything there is to know about snakes and stay updated on the latest snake news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and snake pictures at LiveScience.com. Learn more about these fascinating creatures as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about snakes.

Latest about Snakes

a burmese python with its jaw stretched extremely wide as it swallows a large deer

'Truly primal': Watch Burmese python swallow deer whole in Florida Everglades by stretching its mouth to the absolute limit

By Hannah Osborne published

Female Burmese python measuring 14.8’ (4.5m) and weighing 115.2 lbs (52.3 kg) consuming a white-tailed deer weighing 76.9 lbs (34.9 kg) in southwestern Florida.

Snakes
Three snakes lying on a table

4-foot snake vomits up 2 smaller snakes — and 1 was still alive

By Harry Baker published

Wildlife officials in Georgia stumbled across a pair of snakes that had been "expelled" by a larger serpent, only to discover that one of the regurgitated victims was still alive.

Snakes
A Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) using its mouth to swallow the body of a Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus) in Bandarban District, Bangladesh.

Giant snake eaten alive by another giant snake in 1st-of-its-kind encounter

By James Bonthron published

When two top predatory animals come into contact, anything can happen. One eating the other whole, though, is certainly unexpected.

Snakes
Close-up of a Javanese spitting cobra ready to strike, Indonesia - stock photo

Cobras and their relatives evolved in Asia

By Richard Pallardy published

Ancient origins of cobras traced back to Asia, before jumping continents to spread across the world up to 37.5 million years ago.

Snakes
A keeper holds a coastal taipan's open jaws against a shot glass so that the snake ejects venom inside it.

Deadly snake delivers enough venom to kill 400 humans in record-breaking 'milking'

By Sascha Pare published

A coastal taipan named Cyclone recently delivered three times the average amount of venom for its species in one go, setting a new record.

Snakes
A cottonmouth coiled up by the water raises its head

Cottonmouth snakes: Facts about water moccasins

By Patrick Pester, Jessie Szalay last updated

Cottonmouth snakes, also known as water moccasins, are venomous snakes found throughout the southeastern U.S. that can be identified by the white color in their mouths.

Snakes
on the left, a baby snake in a person's palm, on the right, a box with straw with lots of baby snakes in it

'Ronaldo had been looking slightly fatter than usual': Snake thought to be male has 14 babies in rare 'virgin birth'

By Hannah Osborne published

A captive Brazilian rainbow boa initially declared male by a vet gives birth to 14 snakelets in a rare case of parthenogenesis at a U.K. college.

Snakes
A close-up picture of a copperhead snake's head and left eye.

Copperhead snakes: Facts, bites & babies

By Ben Biggs, Jessie Szalay last updated

Reference Copperhead snakes are commonly found in the eastern U.S., where they inflict more bites than any other snake species. Luckily, their venom is relatively mild and rarely deadly for humans.

Reference
close up of a king cobra in an attack position with its mouth open

13 of the most venomous snakes on the planet

By Jeanna Bryner last updated

An encounter with one of these venomous snakes could cost you your life.

Snakes
A black and white snake on the grass lies on its back with its mouth open, as if it were dead.

Dice snakes fake their own death, smearing themselves with blood and poop to make the performance extra convincing

By Richard Pallardy published

Dice snakes theatrically stage their own deaths, using blood and feces to convince predators they've shuffled off their mortal coils.

Snakes
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