Wonderfully Made

I love snakes! Out of all the animals I’ve seen, I’d have to say that snakes are by far my favorite! I have caught many kinds of snakes: black rat snakes, garter snakes, prairie king snakes, smooth green snakes, common water snakes, black racers, and others. I enjoy feeding and caring for each of the snakes I catch.

The black rat snake, along with the common garter snake, eastern hognose snake, and corn snake, are my favorite snakes! The black rat snake can grow up to nine feet long! I am currently caring for four black rat snakes! Two of my snakes are about 4 feet long, and the other ones, which are younger, are about 3 feet long. The biggest black rat snake ever recorded was 8.5 feet long!

I must feed my snakes every 4-7 days! I generally feed them the mice I catch from our granary, but I sometimes feed them fish and frogs from the pond. Rat snakes are constrictors, so they kill their prey by wrapping around it and squeezing it to death! King snakes are the strongest constrictors on earth for their size! Once the snake has killed its prey, it will swallow it whole, generally headfirst! A rat snake can swallow a mouse within only a few minutes!

I like handling rat snakes, even though they may be hot tempered when first caught. Black rat snakes can become very gentle after a few days of handling. Gentling rat snakes is a fun job if you like snakes, but it takes a lot of self-control and bravery!

I use different ways of gentling for different kinds of snakes. To gentle the big 6-foot black rat snake, I take the snake, which is generally in a bad mood, and sit in a rocking chair on the back porch. Once seated, I release my hold of the snake and let it slither around all over me! I’ll try to do this in the morning, when it’s still cool out. Since all reptiles are cold blooded, the snakes are colder in the mornings which makes them slower, so they generally lie still enjoying my body heat.

The snake will just lie there for a while warming up, then it will start to slither around flicking its tongue in and out constantly. The tongue of a snake is its way of smelling! When the tongue is flicked out, it collects the chemicals from the environment. When the tongue is pulled in, it touches the Jacobson’s organ which helps the brain recognize the chemicals as smells.

Being cold blooded, snakes are whatever the temperature of their environment is! They can’t live in cold weather, but need to stay warm. The warmer the snake gets, the more active it becomes. Once it starts moving around, I must hold very still! I have been bitten many times on the hands from moving too much! The snake is just curious and does not bite unless frightened. If I am bitten on the hand however, it is very important that I do not jerk away! Black rat snakes have a very powerful bite force. If you jerk while it’s biting you, the snake may lose a few teeth in your hand! I’ve had a snake tooth stuck in my finger! It does not feel so good. Out of all the snakes in the world, the king snake has the strongest bite force for its size!

I guess I haven’t always liked snakes. Although I don’t remember, I imagine that I used to be afraid of snakes when I was little! With more than 3,000 snake species, I find it interesting that about half of the world’s population feels anxious about them. About one-third of the adult population is believed to have an intense fear of snakes! There are only 600 venomous species, and only 200 of those, can kill humans. I am certainly not afraid of snakes, but I do sometimes feel a little anxious and alert when handling an ill-tempered snake. I have respect for the reptile.

I think snakes are some of the most amazing creatures on earth, not only because they can move without legs, but because they can smell with their tongues, their venom can kill and cure, they can feel vibrations with their jaw, they can slip out of their old skin, and climb trees without legs or arms! Different species of snakes can see heat, fly, rattle their tails, live under water, live under ground, or swallow full grown alligators whole! Those are just a few of the many amazing things that snakes can do. Snakes are sure wonderfully made!

~Samuel