types of snakes

From the most harmless and even tender to the largest and most dangerous. The wide variety of species of snakes that we find on our planet is enormous, each one of them having specific characteristics.

Although for many people they are animals related to danger or bad luck, and many even have a special fear of them, called ophidiophobia, the truth is that snakes are animals that have an important role in the ecosystems in which they live.. Basically, they are responsible for maintaining the ecological balance in those places where they are found, since as predatory animals they avoid the overpopulation of different types of rodents and other species that, otherwise, would have free rein to destroy crops, vegetation and everything they find in their path.

In parallel, snakes are also an interesting source of raw material for everything related to the world of health and beauty. And although it is true that you will not find this poison among the best primers on the market, we do find for sale products based on the famous snake poison, duly modified. Among them, the products designed to fight age stand out, in the form of creams and the like.

If you want to know more about the different types of poisonous snakes, as well as about the most common and conventional snakes, which you can comfortably have in your terrarium, we leave you the most accepted classification for these snakes. By the way, given the variability of the names of snakes that exist in the world, if you want to know more about any of them, we recommend that you always search by their scientific name, which eliminates errors in their identification.

at your risk

poisonous snakes

Among the different types of existing snakes, the one that attracts the most attention is that of the poisonous snakes. All this despite representing only 10% of the 3,600 species of snakes cataloged in the world.

If you are wondering which is the most poisonous snake in the world, for now we have to talk about the beaked sea snake or Enhydrina Schistosa, a dose of 0.02 milligrams per kilo of its venom is enough to kill mice, in laboratory tests. However, this title is somewhat in doubt, since the classification is variable with respect to the capacity and concentration of poison necessary and its lethality.

What does seem to be some agreement is that the brown snake would be the second most dangerous species. This Australian species is about 2.4 meters long and is among the most dangerous. 

Something similar to what happens with the eastern green mamba. This animal is among the green snakes typical of arboreal areas located in the eastern part of Africa, with a size of 1.8 to 3.7 meters long, as well as a highly toxic venom. 

This is the same approach of the Bocará or horned crotalo. This tree species is common in Central and South America, having an appearance that already shows signs of its danger.

By the way, if you see a very brightly colored snake, be careful, as these are usually highly poisonous, with few exceptions. Precisely these colors are the warning signal of this risk, so it is advisable not to approach them.

non poisonous snakes

Completing the percentage that we said before, non-venomous species cover about 90% of the small and large snakes that we can find in our world. In this case, we are talking about animals that do not have dangerous poisons, although this does not mean that they do not have risks. The proof is in the pythons. These huge snakes do not have venom because they do not need it, as they hunt and trap their victims with their enormous strength, until they are completely suffocated.

Among the least dangerous, and even suitable for living in a terrarium, we have the green snake. An animal of an intense green color, harmless to humans and that can reach 1.7 meters in length. Also here we find the false coral that, despite its bright color, is not poisonous and uses this coloration to deceive other animals. However, since the variety is remarkable, we encourage you to continue investigating, in case you are interested in this type of snakes in particular.

for its habitat

sea ​​snakes

Sea snakes fall within the Hydrophiinae subfamily and are recognized for being animals that live practically their entire day in salt water. In fact, most species in this group are not capable of moving on a solid surface. In this marine environment they spend their days, feeding on different crustaceans, amphibians and other marine species. Among the most common snakes in this group, we have the broad-snouted sea snake, or Laticauda colubrina, or the yellow sea snake, with the zoological name Hydrophis platurus.

fresh water snakes

Among the animals that move in our rivers, we find some like the water snakes. In our country, there are two main species, the viperine snake and the collared snake. They are not dangerous species, since they feed mainly on amphibians, fish and invertebrates.

Outside of our environment, we have other larger animals, such as the Java shark snake, capable of measuring up to 2.4 meters and unable to stay out of the water. Less sensitive is the anaconda, one of the best known in this segment for being highly dangerous to humans, due to its large size and its constricting capacity.

sand snakes

Compared to the species that live in the water, in this section we find white or very light-colored snakes, as well as some light-colored yellow snakes. This color is not accidental, since they use the sand as an environment to live and hide from other predators. They are animals that live in all kinds of deserts and among them are common and harmless snakes to others as dangerous as some rattlesnakes.

Among them, we have species such as the highly poisonous Mojave rattlesnake, or the Arabian sand boa, totally harmless and even suitable for living in a terrarium, as it adequately withstands different temperatures. In fact, this is one of the most suitable groups to search for domestic or terrarium snakes.