Types of snakes in the coastal region. Ten-meter snakes found in Primorye

Strictly speaking, the snake is the name of various types of snakes. All of them belong to the family Snake, to the genera big-eyed snakes, scaly-fronted snakes, climbing snakes, slender snakes, hierophis, Zamenis, Dolichophis, and others.

Consider some types of runners. Let's start with representatives of the genus Dolichophis.

Genus Dolichophis

yellow-bellied snake

The yellow-bellied snake, also called the Caspian snake, is a rather large snake, but it is known not for its size, but for its aggressive behavior. The yellow-bellied snake can attack a person and bite to the point of blood, but it is worth remembering that the bite of these snakes is not poisonous.

This species of snake is one of the largest European species. There were individuals two and a half meters long, although usually a large snake does not exceed two meters in length. Representatives of the population of this species living on the islands Aegean Sea, smaller than their continental relatives and do not exceed a meter. The males of the yellow-bellied snake are longer than the females.

The head of the Caspian snake is small, slightly separated from the body. The muzzle is rounded, the eyes are slightly bulging with a round pupil. There are circles around the eyes yellow color. The color of the upper body of an adult snake can be yellowish-brown, reddish or cherry-red, olive-brown. Rarely there are individuals with an almost black color. The scales of this snake species are very smooth.

The Caspian snake belongs to the genus Dolichophis (Latin), to which our next “guest” also belongs.

red-bellied snake

The red-bellied snake is a species of the genus Dolichophis. Until recently, these snakes were not isolated in separate view, and classified as a subspecies of the Caspian snake. It differs from the latter species in some color features, primarily in a reddish belly.

The red-bellied snake lives in the Caucasus, in Turkey, in the north of Iran, it is also fashionable to meet it in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan.

This species of snake lives in a variety of places. It can be found along the coast of valley rivers with dense coastal vegetation, in juniper forests and orchards, on xerophytic mountain slopes at an altitude of 1000-1500 m above sea level.

The red-bellied snake is active during the daytime. After hibernation, it wakes up in March. The mating period lasts from mid-April to mid-May, from mid-June to early July, the female lays 6 to 11 eggs. Young snakes are born in September and immediately reach about 33 centimeters in length.

The main prey of this species of snakes is lizards, it can also prey on small birds, rodents, snakes of other species. It tries to hide from enemies in the holes of rodents, if the snake cannot hide, then it actively defends itself, making throws towards the enemy and trying to bite him. These attacks are accompanied by a loud hiss.

The next species of this genus is Dolichophis jugularis.

Dolichophis jugularis

This species is distributed in the territories of Southern Europe and the Middle East, namely in Albania, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, on the islands of the Aegean Sea, in Syria, Iraq, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan.

Representatives of this species can reach 2.5 meters in length, but usually an adult has a length of 1.5 meters. The color of the species is brown or black with a yellowish tinge. Adult representatives of this species have weak lines along the back. Young snakes have short transverse stripes on their backs.

Feeds on lizards and small mammals. Mostly found on the ground, but crawls well through trees. It occurs in dry places, in fields or on hillsides up to 2000 meters above sea level.

Genus climbing snakes

Now representatives of this genus are very widespread: in the Northern and Central America, South and Central Europe, and Asia.

Consider some of the species from this genus.

The island snake is found only in Japan and the island of Kunashir. Representatives of the species reach a body length of up to 1.3 meters.

This species settles on the seashore, among stones or surf debris, it can also be found in bamboo thickets or bedding. coniferous forests. This species swims well in both fresh and sea water.

It hunts birds and mammals of small size, from hunger it can also attack Far Eastern frogs. The victim is strangled, wrapping rings around her body and squeezing, like a boa constrictor.

The most serious enemy of the island snake is the European mink, which was artificially populated in Kunashir in 1985. Also, active construction leads to a reduction in the natural habitats of the species.

A species of snakes up to 80 centimeters long, lives in the south of the Far East, the northern border of the range reaches approximately Khabarovsk and in the northwest to the Bureya and Zeya rivers.

Occurs along overgrown banks of rivers and stagnant reservoirs. It swims and dives well, which resembles a snake. For humans, this species is absolutely harmless.

The species is ovoviviparous, the female gives birth to 8 to 20 cubs up to 20 centimeters long at the end of September.

Patterned snake - this species lives in the vast expanses of Asia. It can be found in Mongolia, Korea, northern China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia, Transcaucasia and further to the northern part of Iran.

The patterned snake reaches a length of one and a half meters. A feature of this species is a very variable color. There are monochromatic individuals (melanists), which were previously distinguished into separate subspecies. But as a result of research, it was proved that such color variants are only variants of population variability within the boundaries of one species.

Dwells in the most different conditions, it can be found in deserts, and in the steppes, and in coniferous or mixed forests, in juniper woodlands, in orchards and vineyards, in river valleys, in swampy areas, in rice fields and so on. It swims and dives well, climbs the branches of trees.

The diet of the patterned snake is quite varied, it can eat insects, fish, amphibians and other snakes, not to mention small mammals. In this species, cases of cannibalism are known, while the victim is swallowed from the head.

In general, the patterned snake is a special forces species in the genus "climbing snakes".

At the same time, the patterned snake itself can become the prey of small predatory mammals, and birds (in particular, the steppe eagle) can also eat it. From the enemy, the snake tries to hide in a shelter.

In the photo: an employee of the Institute of Ecology of the Volga Basin of the Russian Academy of Sciences Anastasia Poklontseva in a snake nursery with her pet - a patterned snake.

The length of representatives of this species does not exceed 150 centimeters. The head is slightly elongated, the body is slender, the tail is short. Among the representatives of the species there are melanists, that is, darkly colored individuals. On the sides of the body there are 4 pronounced dark stripes, but they are absent in melanists. Belly olive or Pink colour, for melanists - dark gray with a metallic sheen. Young snakes of this species are brown in color and have a distinct contrasting pattern that fades with age. The iris of the eyes is dark red, while in melanists it is black.

The small-scaled climbing snake lives on the Japanese islands, and on the island of Kunashir. It can settle in a wide variety of places: on the seashore, in bamboo thickets, on the slope of a volcano, near geothermal sources, and so on.

It feeds mainly on frogs and snakes, including an individual of its own species, sometimes it takes small rodents or birds.

A four-stripe climbing snake is enough large view snakes, can reach 260 centimeters in length. The species inhabits the territory of the northern and eastern Mediterranean, the steppes of Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia and Iran.

It feeds on rodents, it can eat a young hare, if you're lucky, it feeds on birds. Young individuals feed on lizards. Easily moves in the branches of trees in search of bird nests.

It does not pose a danger to a person and tries to avoid a meeting. But if she is taken by surprise, she behaves very aggressively, makes sharp attacks towards a potential enemy, trying to bite, and at the same time hisses loudly. The eastern subspecies of this species is the most aggressive.

The Amur snake is one of the most spectacular snake species living in Russia.

The color of the back of adults is dark brown or completely black, often with a bluish iridescent sheen. Against this background, there are rare narrow, oblique, forked stripes of white or yellow color on the sides. The ventral side of this snake species is yellow, often with dark spots. There are completely black individuals of this species.

The Amur snake lives in a variety of natural areas, from the steppes to mixed forests. Found on Far East, In Mongolia and North China and Korea.

The Amur snake preys on mice, small rats, can catch a bird, destroy a bird's nest and eat eggs. There are cases when the Amur snake made its way into the chicken coop and ate chicken eggs. Small snakes also eat shrews and molluscs.

These snakes do not shy away from people, they can settle in gardens, vegetable gardens and attics of residential buildings.

This is not a conflict snake and in case of danger it tries to flee, but being cornered, like other types of snakes, it hisses loudly and attacks. An adult large snake can seriously bite.

This snake gets used to people, eats from hands and breeds in captivity.

Genus scaly-fronted snakes

Representatives of this genus up to 160 cm long live in North Africa and Asia from the Arabian Peninsula in the west to Pakistan and northern India in the east. The range of the genus covers Central Asia and to the south of Kazakhstan, where one species of this genus is widespread - the scaly-fronted (or striped) snake, common in the Karakum desert.

Genus Hierophis

This genus includes 3 species.

Usually the length of the Balkan snake reaches one meter, rarely 1.3 meters. The color of the snake is olive brown with dark spots, especially visible in the front of the body.

The Balkan snake is distributed in northeastern Italy, Greece, on the eastern coast of the Adriatic (Albania, Croatia, Montenegro).

It lives in dry rocky places, feeds mainly on lizards and large insects, less often on small mammals and birds.

striped snake

The striped snake lives from Southeast Kazakhstan to Korea and South Primorye. It is also found in China and Mongolia. There have been several sightings of this species near Khabarovsk, but they are considered accidental.

It can live in a variety of places: from deserts to sea coasts. Like many species of snakes, it feeds mainly on lizards. The striped snake is included in the Red Books of Russia and Kazakhstan.

The yellow-green snake is a rather large species, it can reach a length of 2.2 meters, although the average size adult 1 meter. It lives in northeastern Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and also on the island of Malta.

The color of this species corresponds to its name, it is green or yellow in color with dark transverse stripes on the back and sides. These stripes are wide and uneven, and on the tail they already look like intermittent, broken ribbons. In some areas of Italy (in particular in Sicily), limited populations of completely black individuals live.

For living, the species prefers dry places. The diet of the yellow-green snake is practically no different from the diet of other species of snakes.

Scientists of the Biological and Soil Institute of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the first time recorded on the territory national park"Land of the leopard" red-backed snake. This rare reptile, listed in several regional Red Books, is found in Russia only in the south of the Far East. This was reported by Primorskaya Gazeta with reference to the press service of the Land of the Leopard National Park.

In total, 10 species of snakes can be found in Primorsky Krai, of which only three are poisonous. Previously, scientists only assumed that the red-backed snake lives in the national park, but there was no reliable information. The experts managed to dispel all doubts about this during the scientific expedition to inventory the herpetofauna in the northern part of the "Land of the Leopard". A fairly large population of rare snakes was recorded here.

The red-backed snake is listed in several regional Red Books: Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, the Jewish Autonomous Region. Experts note that on the territory of Primorsky Krai it is a vulnerable species that may be threatened with extinction, for example, due to the use of pesticides and other poisons in the fields. Many snakes die under the wheels of cars in the spring and autumn, when they crawl out onto the road after a cool night to warm up. Also, people often kill these snakes, considering them poisonous. However, the red-backed snake poses absolutely no danger to humans. On the territory of the national park, this species of reptiles is under protection, which guarantees sustainable development of this population.

Now under the care of the "Land of the Leopard" is another Red Book species. national park became the second in Primorye specially protected natural area(SPNT), where these snakes are recorded reliably and not in a single copy. Previously, among the protected areas, a large population of the red-backed snake was noted only in the Far East Marine Reserve of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The biology, ecology and distribution of this snake on the territory of Primorsky Krai are poorly understood, so every find of this species is important. Interestingly, of all the snakes of the family already-shaped, found in the Far East, only the red-backed snake has ovoviviparous. The cubs are born in translucent egg shells, which they tear apart a few minutes after birth and then spread, - said Irina Maslova, Candidate of Biological Sciences, head of the expedition, herpetologist at BPI FEB RAS.

Photo - Irina Maslova, herpetologist, BPI FEB RAS

REFERENCE

The red-backed snake is a medium-sized snake, with a body length of up to 78 cm. It has a brownish or olive-brown color on the upper body with four rows of dark spots in a light border that merge into narrow stripes. On the upper side of the head there is a specific pattern, consisting of four pairwise converging longitudinal dark stripes, turning in the back into two short trunk stripes along the sides of the neck. A narrow black stripe runs from the eye to the corner of the mouth, sometimes extending to the neck and front of the body. The belly is yellowish (reddish in underyearlings), with black transverse spots located in some areas in a checkerboard pattern. The somewhat elongated head is well separated from the body. The pupil is rounded. The snake is found in patches in deciduous forests, in meadow moist areas, in floodplain shrubs along the overgrown banks of stagnant and flowing reservoirs. In the taiga more often, the red-backed snake is not found. Leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle. Swims and dives well. The diet is dominated by aquatic animals: small fish, amphibians, invertebrates in young individuals. In the regional Red Books, the snake is assigned the third category, it has the status rare species on the periphery of the range.

Primorye is the only place on Earth where glaciers have not reached, so here you can find relic plants that existed even before ice age. The same goes for its fauna. This region is unusually rich, it has everything: the ocean and mountains, minerals and medicinal plants, fast rivers and clear lakes full of fish, legendary caves and a huge green expanse of taiga, where the Ussuri tiger and black bear coexist.

It is surprising that in such an abundance of Primorsky Krai snakes are represented by only a few species, 3 of which are poisonous.

Primorsky Krai

Unfortunately, the modern urban dweller is completely unadapted to life in nature, where he visits either barbecue or during his vacation. Often people cannot simply distinguish poplar from birch.

Oriental muzzle

It is difficult to confuse this snake with any other, as it has a characteristic color in the form of black circles on the sides of the body, which are connected along the back. From the mouth to the eyes of the eastern cottonmouth there are stripes that give it a smiling look, but it is better not to trust him.

These snakes in Primorsky Krai prefer damp places and reservoirs, as they are excellent swimmers and dive well. They can be found in water meadows, swamps and forests. There were cases when, during migration, eastern cottonmouths swam across rivers and even small sea bays.

They have to overcome such dangers every year, as they look for suitable places for wintering. These snakes in Primorsky Krai, like many others, prefer to sleep underground or in a shelter that does not freeze through and is not subject to flooding by melt water, so they have to look for suitable caves or crevices in the mountains. Sometimes in one place collects up to 2000 individuals.

Quite often, rodent burrows, located somewhere on a hill, become wintering grounds, whose owners were previously eaten by muzzles.

These snakes feed not only on birds and mammals, but also on fish, and frogs, and amphibians. The eastern muzzle uses venom in the same way as other poisonous snakes in Primorsky Krai. They do not attack people, and in every possible way try to avoid them, so if you come across an eastern cottonmouth, just wait until it crawls. The snake can be only 5-10 cm from the human leg and quietly crawl away if it feels that nothing threatens it.

Stony muzzle

The poisonous snakes of the Primorsky Territory are arranged in such a way that, with their coloring, they seem to warn a person: “Don’t come near, I’m dangerous!” So the stony muzzle is the owner of bright brown stripes, which are separated by light inserts.

The venom of these snakes, like those of others, causes the bitten 2 stages of deterioration:

• firstly, it is a powerful hemotoxin that provokes thrombosis and hemorrhage;
• secondly, it is a neurotoxin that causes paralysis respiratory tract and the victim simply suffocates, if he has not died before from extensive necrosis.

The most common rock muzzle is in the mountains, namely in forest stone screes in the Ussuriysky, Lazovsky and Sikhote-Alinsky reserves. Often, different types of snakes in Primorsky Krai winter in one place. It can be a deep depression or a crevice at a depth of up to 4 meters, where reptiles rush from all sides. In one such pit, there are snakes, and different types of muzzle, and vipers, and snakes. They come out of hibernation in April-May.

Sakhalin viper

This beautiful and small snake of a dark gray or brownish hue with a beautiful zigzag pattern along the body may even seem cute, but it is included in the category "Most dangerous snakes in the Primorsky Territory. The venom of this viper has hemolytic properties, and if a person or even a large animal, such as a horse, was bitten, then death occurs within half an hour from blood incoagulability and numerous hemorrhages in the internal organs.

The Sakhalin viper prefers to settle along the banks of rivers and lakes, but it can be found in the coastal rocks in the area of ​​Sovetskaya Gavan and on the border of the beach and the forest, therefore, when relaxing on the river bank, for example, it is better not to walk barefoot in the thicket.

The snake never attacks first and avoids a person in every possible way, but if it is stepped on, it will respond, of course, with a bite. This snake feeds on lizards, small rodents and birds.

Brindle already

There are conditionally poisonous snakes in Primorsky Krai, whose bite will not kill a person or animal, but will bring a lot of unpleasant moments. The unusually beautiful brindle already belongs to this category.

Its length of up to 1.1 meters already makes it noticeable, and in addition to this, the color of the back of the snake varies from olive and greenish to sky blue with transverse black stripes or spots that give it a tiger look.

As this snake species matures, it develops orange or reddish spots that further "colorize" its skin.

Bite tiger snake not dangerous and you should be afraid of him if he turns his back on you. In the event of a threat, he raises his body and turns his neck towards the enemy, on which glands are located that produce a caustic poisonous secret, which is deadly for small mammals.

If this substance enters a person in an open wound, then the consequences can be the most unpredictable - from severe poisoning to lethal outcome with a weak heart.

Japanese already

This inconspicuous small snake up to half a meter in length prefers to settle in cedar-deciduous and small-leaved forests, less often it can be found in meadows, near berry bushes. It will not be easy to notice it in the grass and foliage. The skin color of the Japanese snake varies from greenish to dark brown and chocolate.

It can be given out by a yellow stripe running from the mouth to the eyes. The abdomen of the snake is olive or yellow. To find her, you will have to try hard, not only is she an excellent camouflage, but she chooses the most secluded places for life - rotten stumps, fallen trees, stones.

The snake feeds mainly earthworms, small frogs and molluscs. It is distinguished from the closest similar snake species by the absence of a pattern on the skin.

Amur snake

This snake can be safely called a movie star, since it is the Amur snake that replaces its dangerous and poisonous relatives in films of various categories. Its black color, which is interrupted by bright yellow stripes, gives it an exotic look, which is what the directors use when shooting another scene with snakes attacking people.

Usually reptiles have a color that helps them blend in with their surroundings, but the Amur snake with its bright stripes is unlikely to succeed, which is why many are surprised why it needs such an “extravagant outfit”.

In fact, this is his protection, since his enemies' eyes do not perceive his body as a whole precisely because of these yellow broken lines that bend as the snake crawls. This gives her an advantage and time to run.

The Amur snake is not at all afraid of people, and although its habitat is forests and meadows, it often settles in gardens and near houses, which greatly helps their inhabitants. Even cats can't handle mice and small rodents as well as these snakes.

They determine their habitat and leave it only if they are looking for a mate or best place for wintering, but always return after hibernation to their territory.

patterned snake

A variety of these snakes in many countries is included in the category of pets and pets. And this is not surprising. The patterned snake quickly gets used to people and eats from the hands, and its smooth, unlike other snakes, skin is very pleasant to the touch. They live in orchards and vineyards, climb trees perfectly, swim and dive.

Their color varies from grayish back with black spots to light gray and yellow with brownish spots. In the wild, they prefer mountain slopes, swamp edges, floodplains and alpine meadows.

They feed on everything they catch - from small mammals and birds to insects, fish and eggs. They first strangle their prey, as boas do, and swallow the eggs whole.

On average, they live up to 9-10 years. These are the most common snakes in the border region of Primorsky Krai.

redback snake

This small snake is called so because on its olive-colored back, reddish spots with a border “lined up” in 4 rows. The red-backed snake loves water and always settles near water bodies or in very damp lowlands and swamps. He hunts in the water, feeding mainly on small fish, frogs, and when he is lucky, birds and small rodents.

The amazing thing about this snake is that it belongs to the viviparous reptiles, which is rare. Small snakes appear in a shell resembling an egg, which they immediately tear open and begin to hunt. The young feed on earthworms and insects.

Safety regulations

If you are not going to nature and are little familiar with the surrounding natural world, then best advice in such a situation - be vigilant and careful. When you see a yellow snake crawling in the grass (the inhabitants of the Primorsky Territory can have a completely different, sometimes even exotic color), you should not shout and beat it with a stick.

Snakes are afraid and avoid people, and if a chance meeting did occur, they should be allowed to crawl their way.

AT northern regions Giant 10-meter snakes are found in the Primorsky Territory, Dalnegorsky ufologist Valery Dvuzhilny told the correspondent of RIA "Data"

There are many stories about giant snakes encountered in Primorye in the archives of Dvuzhilny. He himself saw the trace of such a creature in the early 80s, when he worked as part of a group that studied the water regime of Lake Tsarskoye in the Terney region. “This mysterious lake, 300 meters wide and 500 meters long, behaves very strangely,” says Dvuzhilny. discharges water, although there is no visible source near the reservoir. It was in August. We saw a track 30 cm wide, stretching across the entire bottom of the lake. The grass was flattened in one direction. The lake is located on the territory of the Sikhote-Alin biosphere reserve, heavy equipment, with the help of which something could be transported, dragged there, is not there. Gamekeeper Anatoly KHOBOTNEV said that two of his colleagues last summer saw a giant dark-colored snake crawling over the bottom of the lake, at least 10 meters long, its body diameter was about 30 centimeters. Deputy the director of the reserve for science KOROTKOV, who has studied snakes all his life, said that the longest snake living in Primorye is the Amur snake, whose length reaches 2.7 m, body diameter is 5-7 cm. And its color is different - a yellow pattern on black background. The largest snakes on the planet - boas, anacondas, live in South America. But they also do not have a body of such length and thickness, they have a different color.

The Terney regional newspaper reported on a mysterious incident that occurred even before the war: two local hunters went hunting on Golubichnoye Lake. At the Khuntami pass, the hunter walking in front suddenly met the eyes of a huge snake, the length of which reached more than 10 meters, the head was unusually large. Apparently, her gaze had a hypnotic effect: instead of fleeing, the poor fellow froze as if rooted to the spot, and then began to bounce in place, as if he was being held by an invisible force. But the second hunter was not taken aback and shot at the monster. Blood gushed from the wound, the snake began to spin and move towards the offenders. They started to run. Pavel Nikonov, a hunter from Amgu, who was the guide of Dvuzhilny’s expeditions, also met with a giant reptile at the age of 16. Armed with a small-caliber rifle, he went down the river, deciding to hunt small game. And on the other side I noticed huge snake dark in color: she hissed and crawled towards him. Although snakes don't usually attack first, this one was aggressive. Pavel shot her in the head with all 5 cartridges from a clip from a distance of several steps. But the snakes are tenacious: even the mortally wounded reptile continued its offensive. Pavel gave up.

The Udege people from the village of Agzu, Ternei district, keep the legends of their great-grandfathers, who more than once saw giant snakes on local lakes and heard terrible screams. They also saw the "line" - an animal about 6 m long, covered with scales, like a lizard, with a crocodile's mouth. In the diaries of Vladimir ARSENIEV, it is mentioned that on the cape of Adimi Bay (on the territory of the Terney region) he found a wooden statue resembling a crocodile ...

People usually encounter giant snakes in August. And not only in the Terney region. They were observed not only by natives from the Udege clan, rangers and hunters, but also by doctors, military men, and workers. A few years ago, in the Dalnegorsk region, a bus was taking miners to their shift at the Nikolayevsky mine of OAO Dalpolimetall. Suddenly the driver stopped the car: the road was blocked by a huge black log more than 10 meters long. When he got out of the bus to remove it, he saw that the "log" was alive, it was crawling across the road, and it was so big that neither the head nor the tail could be seen. Frightened, he hid in the bus. Hard workers stuck to the windows, watching this diva. Having waited until the snake almost crawled over the track - finally its tail appeared, they got off the bus and traced the trajectory of the snake: it disappeared into the Nikolaevskaya cave. The workers threw stones and sticks into the cave, trying to lure out the terrible creature in order to get a better look at it, but in vain ...

A giant snake was also met in the area of ​​​​the Upper mine in the Dalnegorsk region, the Olginsky old-timers testify that such snakes were also met by the inhabitants of their region, and even before the war. About 3 years ago, two motorcyclists collided with a giant snake beyond the village of Kamenka in the Dalnegorsk region: it was crawling across the highway, heading towards the sea.

What is this phenomenon? Atavism of the past ancient reptile, somehow a survivor from time immemorial, a mutant or someone else? In addition to the mystery of the ETC - extraterrestrial civilizations, Mother Earth keeps many of her own mysteries ...

In America and Europe, the Amur snake is called the Russian snake - it is an expressive representative of a rather significant genus Elaphe. Snake lovers often keep it at home, in terrariums. He attracts his unusual color, elegance of movements, calmness, ease of maintenance and breeding.

The main characteristics of the Amur snake

The snake lives in northern and northeastern China, in Korea and Mongolia. In Russia, it can be found in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories. In the west, the range extends to the Lesser Khingan, to Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the north.

Lives in any forests, meadows, but can also settle next to home buildings, in vegetable gardens, orchards. These snakes are not at all afraid of humans.

Color

The color of an adult Amur snake rather reminiscent of the color of exotic snakes:

• the upper part of the body is dark brown or black;
• on the sides of the snakes are very bright, yellow stripes;
• the belly is yellow and often with black spots.

The head is usually all black, and there are black or yellow stripes on the lip brushes. There are also black stripes from the mouth to the eyes. Sometimes in nature you can meet a completely black snake.

This color of the snake is considered protective. So, thanks to the bright color, predators cannot perceive it as one. When he moves dexterously, all these bright stripes quickly flicker and the enemy is lost.

The color of young animals differs from adults:

• the upper part of the body is brown, with transverse stripes more dark color;
• all stripes along the contour are black and are separated from the neighboring strip by a thin white area;
• on the head is interesting drawing from dark and lighter stripes.

This is the color of the young allows them to perfectly disguise themselves from a potential enemy on the ground and in the crowns of various trees.

Character features

These snakes are quite large and massive, can reach a length of 3 meters. But even these parameters do not prevent him from quickly and deftly moving away from the enemy. It happens that he is suddenly noticed, then he begins to hiss strongly, can rush at the enemy and even bite him.

Like all snakes, the Amur snake is not poisonous. However, his jaws are very sharp and if he bites a person, the sensations will be unpleasant and painful. In captivity, he very soon gets used to a person, stops attacking and biting.

Amur snake in the wild

The Amur snake perfectly contacts with a person and lives next to him, but still the main habitat is the wild nature in which he lives, gets food and breeds.

Lifestyle

These snakes lead active life only during the day. They are very mobile, crawl well and move excellently through trees and are able to climb to a height of 10 meters. They are also excellent at diving and swimming.

A long distance is not an obstacle for them, but no matter how far they crawl away, they always return to their place of residence. So, according to the results of the experiment it was found that the Amur snake is able to overcome 8 km per day.

Throughout their lives, snakes move around a certain territory, the boundaries of which they themselves have established. Only in some cases do they leave their places when they go in search of a mate or crawl away to spend the winter.

The snakes hide in the ruins of stumps, in hollows, crevices between stones, in nests and burrows of other animals. If they prefer life next to a person, then they spend the winter in a pile of garbage. They hibernate in groups, so in one group there can be up to 30 snakes. The duration of the hibernation period depends on the weather, and in particular on the air temperature.

Food

Amur snake is a predator. Its diet includes both small prey - invertebrates, and larger ones - birds, frogs, lizards, mice. A larger representative is able to eat a rat or even a hare.

As a rule, he strangles large prey, but swallows small prey whole. But it also willingly feasts on the laid eggs of birds, and the shell does not burp, like most snakes. The esophagus of the snake is designed in such a way that it allows you to grind the shell.

Amur snakes are often kept as pets in China. There, these snakes help in household chores. But sometimes, snakes in search of food, crawl into home lots and behave like robbers. They eat poultry and their eggs.

reproduction

In early spring, adults meet, annually in the same place. Males in every possible way seek the location of females and are almost always with her. The main ritual of courtship - the male strokes his chosen one with his head. When the mating season ends, all the males crawl away, but the females remain to bear future offspring. During this period, they are completely relaxed and resting. Usually in this area are collected not only female snakes, but also representatives of other snakes.

In mid-July, females lay eggs with a diameter of 2 cm and a length of 5 cm. The number of eggs in one clutch is 10–30. Larger females lay more eggs. Masonry is formed in a loose substrate, in a hollow or moss, in rotten leaves. It happens that females create collective masonry. There can be up to 110 eggs in such a common nest.

Egg babies hatch big, often their length reaches 30 cm. The food of children is more diverse than that of adult Amur snakes. They eat chicks, cubs of rodents, shrews. Due to frost (it is difficult to find a frost-free shelter), most young animals die in their first winter.

Sexual maturity occurs after 3 years. Life span in wild nature is 11 years old.

Amur snake at home

Amur snake is not uncommon in home terrariums. It is his majority who choose for home breeding. Sometimes he settles in home areas. Often people do not mind such a neighborhood, as it perfectly copes with the functions of a cat. . In captivity these snakes are fine they adapt to humans, take food from their hands and are even capable of reproduction.

home terrarium

• at night - 25 degrees;
• during the day - 32 degrees.

A cuvette with water is also a must. The snake will swim in it and just lie down during the molt. Covers can be purchased different kind and forms (houses, caves, shelves). In order for the snake to burrow, a ditch with sphagnum is needed. It is better to place it in a warm place of any shelter. The terrarium can also accommodate different snags, branches along which the home snake will crawl.

The soil for the terrarium is optional, but if such a desire arises, then you can use coarse sand, coconut flakes, gravel, or simply lay filter paper on the bottom. The sphagnum must be constantly moist, so the terrarium is sprayed once a day. To keep two or more individuals, you should increase the terrarium.

Feeding

At home, the Amur snake they feed mice, hamsters, quails, rats, chickens. Youngsters will like little mice.

Feed the pet 1 time in 4-5 days. Water needs to be changed regularly, as they drink very often. Mineral supplements are also needed. They can be obtained from regular egg shells. Once every 30 days, vitamins are added to the feed. All top dressings are given only according to the instructions. For good digestion of snake, you can add to the drinker mineral water Borjomi.

Breeding

Start breeding snakes maybe after winter. During this period, it is necessary to give preparations that contain vitamin E, the course is 2-3 weeks. Then the males and females are brought together. Copulation time - 3 hours.

Females lay eggs after 45 days. For eggs, prepare a special container with sphagnum in advance. All masonry is cleaned in an incubator, where a constant temperature is maintained from 27 to 29 degrees. In one such clutch there can be up to 30 eggs. After 50–55 days, babies appear.

Daily and seasonal rhythm

The Amur snake is active from spring to autumn, so the duration daylight hours should be 12 hours. Irradiation lasts almost all day ultraviolet lamp. When exposed to lamp, the skid should be in a drier place.

The snake goes into a dormant state in winter. Therefore, over 20 days, you should gradually reduce the daylight hours and the heating work. When the reduction of the day reaches 8 hours, the night heating is turned off and the pet is stopped feeding. If the day is reduced to 4 hours, then daytime heating is also not needed. During hibernation, the snake is placed in a well-ventilated place with sawdust. The wintering of the pet should take place at a temperature not higher than 15 degrees.

Soil during the winter sprayed to maintain moisture. This time lasts about two months. It is also necessary to bring the snake out of hibernation gradually, increasing daylight hours and increasing heating. When the eight-hour day is reached, night heating is turned on and the Amur snake begins to be fed.

The Far Eastern or Amur snake is one of the most beautiful snakes on our planet. It is these snakes that are often filmed in documentaries and feature films, decorate with photos scientific and popular magazines with them.