| Hey kids, close your eyes for a moment and | | | | snakes, all you need to to is stamp very hard as |
| imagine that your arms are stuck to your sides | | | | you walk. |
| and your legs are stuck together. Imagine that | | | | Snakes don't use legs to get around, either. They |
| you have no ears, and that you smell with your | | | | move by slithering with their bodies, and using |
| tongue. And imagine that your entire body is | | | | their scales to help hold them in place. Snake |
| covered with fingernails. | | | | scales cover their entire bodies, and the widest |
| Seems strange, doesn't it? Now you know what | | | | scales are on their bellies. Their scales sit in your |
| it's like being a snake! | | | | skin just like fingernails do, and help to grip the |
| Snakes are a group of reptiles closely related to | | | | ground as a snake moves. |
| lizards. Most people think that the big difference | | | | Because they are also hard, like your fingernails, |
| between them is that lizards have legs and | | | | scales don't stretch as a snake grows. That's why |
| snakes don't, but there are some legless lizards, | | | | snakes have to shed their scales as they grow. |
| and some snakes that have little "claws" near | | | | They crawl out of the old, too-small skin, and |
| their tails which are actually the remnants of hind | | | | leave it behind like a long sock! |
| legs! | | | | Fun fact #1: Biggest Snake: You can divide snakes |
| Actually, the biggest differences between snakes | | | | up into two groups: those who catch their prey |
| and lizards are the ears, eyes, and scales. | | | | by biting them with poisonous fangs, and those |
| Snakes don't have eyelids like lizards do. Instead, | | | | who catch their prey by squeezing. The biggest |
| their eyes are covered by a clear, hard scale. If | | | | snakes are the squeezers, or constrictors. The |
| something gets in a snake's eye, the snake licks | | | | title for biggest snake is shared between two |
| its eyes clean using its tongue! | | | | species: anacondas and pythons. Anacondas are |
| Snakes also don't have ear openings on their | | | | the heaviest snakes, and can weigh up to 550 |
| heads at all! Instead, snakes hear though | | | | pounds. Reticulated pythons are the longest; they |
| vibrations that travel though the air and the | | | | can reach up to 10 metres (33 feet) long. That's |
| ground. So if you want to frighten away any | | | | like laying eight 10-year-olds end-to-end! |