Milk snakes suck milk from cows.
-All snakes are carnivorous (meat eaters). No cow would allow it, and snakes lack the ability to suck.
Snakes are slimy.
-They are soft and dry, but may appear “slimy” if wet or if they have recently shed their skin and appear shiny.
A hoop snake rolls down hills with its tail in its mouth.
-There is no such thing as a hoop snake.
Snakes have venomous stingers on their tails.
-Venomous snakes deliver their venom through their fangs.
Snakes are charmed by music.
-Snakes react to movement, not sound.
Rattlers must coil before striking.
-A snake can strike from any position.
Rattlesnakes add a new segment to their rattle each year.
-Rattlesnakes add a new segment after shedding their skin. This may happen several times a year, depending on the age of the snake.
When snakes are killed, they wriggle.
-Recently killed snakes may wriggle for some time, even if its head has been removed. This is due to reflex actions.
All venomous snakes have triangular heads
–In North America, most venomous snakes (pit vipers) have triangular heads shaped by the venom glands. However the coral snake, a relative of the cobras, possesses a round, smooth head.
Snakes will chase you
-Snakes are defensive. Most snakes try to escape if possible; some will hold their ground. A snake may appear to “chase” a person if it is trying to escape harm and actually flees in the direction of that person.
Babies are more dangerous than adults
-The jury is still out on this comment. While baby snakes may lack the ability to meter out the proper quantity of venom to subdue its prey, giving a full dose injection, some scientists have concluded that in order to survive the coming winter, the venom should be more toxic to assure a good meal.
Rattlesnakes always rattle a warning before they strike.
–In many instances there’s not time to deliver a defensive bite with adequate warning. One example would be stepping on a sleeping snake. It would bite first and then rattle.
Snakes cannot strike under water.
-Aquatic snakes eat mostly fish and frogs. If they couldn’t strike under water, they would starve.
A mother snake swallows her young when confronted by danger, and later regurgitates them.
-Some snakes eat other snakes, including the young of their own or other species. Parental care is not common with snakes. Anything swallowed is digested.
Rattlesnakes sting with their tongue.
-The primary use of a snake’s tongue is to smell. The tongue is not used for stinging at all.
Rattlesnakes lick their prey before swallowing.
-After biting and injecting venom, rattlesnakes locate their prey by smelling with their tongue. They identify the prey they have bitten by tongue flicking on that prey.