Smithsonian Answer Book: Snakes Book

	Preface	xiii
	Acknowledgments	xv
	Introduction	xvii
1.	Snake Facts
	What Are Snakes?	1
	How Do Snakes Differ from Lizards?	1
	How Are Snakes Built?	3
	How Do Snakes Breathe?	8
	How Do Snakes Crawl and Swim?	10
	Can Snakes Crawl Backward?	13
	How Do Snakes Climb?	13
	Can Snakes Fly?	14
	Do Snakes Dig Burrows?	15
	How Do Snakes See?	15
	What Are Pit Organs?	17
	Do Snakes Hear?	18
	Can Snakes Smell?	18
	Do Snakes Taste Their Food?	20
	How Do Snakes Find and Subdue Their Prey?	20
	How Is Venom Used in Prey Capture?	22
	How Does Constriction Kill?	22
	Do All Snakes Kill Their Prey before Eating It?	23
	What and How Do Snakes Eat?	24
	Why and How Do Snakes Shed Their Skin?	27
	Why Are Snakes Striped, Banded, or Blotched?	29
	How Do Snakes Get Their Colors?	32
	When Is an Albino Not White?	33
	Can Snakes Change Colors?	34
	How Do Snakes Grow?	34
	Do Snakes Grow throughout Their Lives?	34
	How Fast Do Snakes Grow?	35
	How Long Do Snakes Live?	36
	What Does It Mean to Be Cold-Blooded?	38
	Why Do Snakes Bask in the Sun?	38
	Are Snakes Ever Warm-Blooded?	38
	How Do Snakes Spend the Winter?	40
	Do Snakes Hibernate Like Mammals?	40
	Where Do Snakes Hibernate?	41
	Do Snakes Huddle Together to Keep Warm?	42
	How Do Snakes Reproduce?	43
	How Do Snakes Find Their Mates?	43
	How Often Do Snakes Mate?	45
	Do Female Snakes Brood Their Eggs?	46
	How Many Eggs or Young Are Produced?	47
	Do Female Snakes Protect Their Young?	48
	Do Snakes Have Enemies?	50
	What Sounds Do Snakes Make?	52
	How Does a Rattlesnake Rattle?	52
	Do Snakes Make Other Sounds?	54
	How Do Snakes Defend Themselves?	54
	Do Snakes Get Sick?	57
	What Are Some Common Diseases of Snakes?	57
	Do Snakes Have Parasites?	58
	Do Snakes Get Cancer?	59
	Do Snakes Feel Pain?	60
	When Did the First Snake Appear?	60
	How Are the Ages of Fossil Snakes Determined?	62
	How Many Kinds of Snakes Exist Today?	63
	How Are Snakes Classified?	63
	How Are Snakes Related?	65
2.	Folktales
	Why So Many Falsehoods?	69
	What Supernatural Powers Are Attributed to Snakes?	70
	Which Tales Are True?	71
	Are Snakes Cold and Slimy?	71
	Do Snakes Hypnotize Their Prey?	72
	Do All Venomous Snakes Have Triangular Heads?	73
	Are All Hooded Snakes Venomous?	73
	Do Injured Snakes Die before Sundown?	74
	Do Snakes Have Special Odors?	74
	Are Hoop Snakes For Real?	74
	Do Snakes Chase People?	74
	Do Mother Snakes Swallow Their Young?	75
	Do Snakes Milk Cows?	75
	Do Venomous and Nonvenomous Snakes Interbreed?	76
	What Other Strange Tales Are Told about Snakes?	77
	Can Snakes Be Charmed?	78
3.	Giant Snakes: Big and Biggest
	What Qualifies as a Giant?	81
	Anacondas	81
	Reticulated Python	83
	African Rock Pythons	84
	Indian Python	86
	Australian Scrub Python	87
	Boa Constrictor	88
	Asian Ratsnakes	90
	King Cobra	91
	Taipans	92
	Bushmaster	93
	Mambas	95
	Other Giants and Near-Giants	96
4.	Snakebite
	Venomous or Poisonous: What Is the Difference?	105
	What Is Venom?	105
	How Many Snakes Are Venomous?	108
	Where Are Venomous Snakes Found?	110
	Which Snakes Have the Most Potent Venom?	112
	How Do Fangs Work?	113
	How Is Venom Injected?	116
	Do Snakes Spit Their Venom?	120
	How Dangerous Is a Snakebite?	122
	How Do You Avoid Snakebites?	124
	If Bitten, What Next?	124
	What Is Antivenom?	125
	Can Venom Be Used as Medicine?	126
5.	Snakes and Us	129
	Why Are Snakes Important to Us?	129
	Why Do I Have Snakes in My House?	132
	How Do I Keep Snakes Out of My House and Yard?	134
	Should I Keep a Snake as a Pet?	136
	How Can I Become a Snake Specialist?	139
	What Remains to Be Learned about Snakes?	139
Appendix 1.	Classification of Snakes	141
Appendix 2.	Slower than They Seem: Locomotion Speeds of Select Snakes and Other Animals	145
Appendix 3.	Herpetological Organizations	146
	Glossary	148
	General Bibliography	153
	Subject Bibliography	155
	Taxonomic Index	169
	Subject Index	175