Behaving Wildly: SNAKE Edition

Okay, we know we just had a post to appreciate snakes, but they are such wonderful and often misunderstood creatures, we just couldn't wait to post about them again! There are over 40 species of snakes in Georgia, so living with them is just a fact of life! This week, we are going to cover what snake behaviors mean and what types of snakes you might see at Oatland Island Wildlife Center the next time you visit!

Snake Behaviors:

• Hissing - This is an easy one! Snakes hiss when they are threatened and it is a sign of being afraid. Snakes use their hisses as a warning to go away, and we think it’s prudent to listen. Snakes can actually hiss with their mouths closed! Hissing in snakes is produced by air passing through a small opening in their throat called the glottis, not by air moving through the mouth, so you might not be able to tell how snakes feel just by looking at them!
  

  

  https://a-z-animals.com/animals/snake/snake-facts/non-venomous-snakes-in-georgia/

  
  

• Tongue Flicking - Snakes flick their tongues as a way of taking in sensory information! Snake tongues are forked to help take in more scents in the air around it. The scents go into their mouths and into a hole at the roof of their mouths that leads to the vomeronasal organ located in the nasal cavity and helps them better understand the world around them. Snakes are not the only animals to have vomeronasal organs! Cats, horses, bears, most reptiles, and many mammals have it in some form. We don’t, which is a bummer because who wouldn’t want to be able to smell better? 
  

  

• Stretching Out - Snakes who are all stretched out and moving slowly are generally relaxed snakes! When they are all coiled up, that can mean they’re either just getting comfy or hiding, or nervous. It’s always best to just leave snakes alone, though, regardless of their body positions!
  

  

  
  

• Playing Dead - while not all snakes perform this behavior, the Hognose Snake does! When it gets frightened, it will roll over and play dead and sometimes release a foul-smelling liquid to be really convincing! This is a defensive behavior that seems quite silly at first, but upon closer inspection, is really a good way to deter potential predators, as most wildlife don’t want to eat foul-smelling rotting meat! 
  

  

• Yawning - Snakes don’t really yawn because they’re tired! There are numerous reasons why a snake might yawn, but being tired isn’t one of them. After a large meal, snakes might yawn to realign their jaws or stretch them after swallowing a large prey whole. They might also yawn to take in more sensory information from the world around them as most of their scent and heat detection happens to be on their faces. It could also be a sign of distress. 
  

  

Luckily for the snakes at Oatland Island, their keepers are aware of these snake behaviors and can make sure our snakes are well cared for. We hope you will develop a newfound appreciation for the behaviors of snakes, and as always, we look forward to seeing you on the trails!