Yes, snakes can fly. But not in Arizona. 10 facts to know about them, like how they smell

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23-06-2025

Welcome to Snake Week 2025 at azcentral.com. Every day from June 23 through June 29, Ultimate Arizona reporter Tiffany Acosta will bring you a new story about Arizona's favorite slithering reptiles. Follow along to learn about Mojave rattlesnakes, coral snakes, whether snakes make good pets, whether it's legal to kill snakes in Arizona and more.
The world of snakes is equal parts fascinating and fear-inducing. Some folks keep them as scaly companions, while others would sprint in the opposite direction at the mere hint of a slither.
Love them or nope-out at first hiss, snakes are absolutely intriguing creatures. From tongue-flicking to heat-sensing, snakes have evolved some seriously cool skills. Whether you've seen one in your backyard, on a hiking trail or at a reptile show, chances are you've wondered: How do they even work without legs?
Well, grab your metaphorical snake-charming flute and get ready to be charmed. Here are 10 fun facts about snakes.
A snake's tongue is split, or forked, to help it "smell" its surroundings more effectively.
Snakes use their tongue to collect tiny scent particles from the air or ground. When they flick their tongue, each fork picks up particles from slightly different directions.
They then pull the tongue back into the mouth and insert it into their Jacobson's organ, or vomeronasal organ, in the roof of their mouth, according to A-Z Animals.com.
This organ analyzes scent information and helps the snake figure out where smells, like prey or predators, are coming from.
Snakes flick their tongues to detect scent particles in the air. The forked shape of the tongue allows them to detect which direction a scent is coming from, like a built-in GPS for smells.
No, snakes cannot smell fear. They can detect chemical cues: changes in sweat, pheromones and even body heat.
If a person is sweating more because they're scared, a snake might be able to pick up on that moisture or scent, but it doesn't understand it as fear. To the snake, it's just another environmental cue.
Snakes can behave in ways that humans might interpret as shy.
Snakes don't experience emotions like humans do, but many species are naturally reclusive and prefer to avoid confrontation or exposure. That's why they hide under rocks or in burrows and slither away when disturbed.
This behavior is driven by instinct for self-preservation. If you encounter a snake and it freezes, hides or retreats, it's just trying to stay safe. Best to back away.
Rattlesnakes don't lay eggs because they give birth to live young, a reproductive method called ovoviviparity.
Instead of laying eggs in a nest like many other reptiles, rattlesnakes keep the eggs inside their bodies. Baby snakes develop in thin, leathery shells and are fully formed and ready to slither. The mother gives birth to them alive, and the egg casings are left behind during birth.
Snakes don't have external ears like humans or many animals do, but that doesn't mean they're deaf.
Instead, snakes sense sound through vibrations. They have inner ear bones connected to their jawbone, which rests on the ground. When sound waves or vibrations travel through the earth, like footsteps or rustling, the snake can feel it through its jaw and inner ear.
Snakes smell with their tongues. They flick their forked tongues in and out to collect tiny chemical particles from the air or ground. It's an incredibly sensitive system, and snakes can follow scent trails with it.
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Yes, a dead snake can still bite, especially shortly after it dies. This happens because snakes have strong reflexes and their nervous system can still fire even after death.
If you touch or disturb a recently killed snake, its muscles, including those in the head and jaw, may still react. In venomous snakes like rattlesnakes, this means a bite can still occur and venom can still be injected.
Some snakes can glide through the air, and they're often called 'flying snakes,' though they don't technically fly like birds or bats.
The most well-known are Chrysopelea species, found in Southeast Asia. These snakes can launch themselves from trees, flatten their bodies into a ribbon-like shape and glide up to 100 feet or more. Don't worry: You won't find these aerial acrobats in Arizona.
Here's how flying snakes do it:
They climb high into trees.
Launch themselves off a branch.
Flatten their bodies by spreading their ribs wide.
Undulate in the air like a ribbon, adjusting direction mid-glide.
Some snakes do have a kind of "heat vision."
Pit vipers — such as rattlesnakes, boa constrictors and pythons — have special heat-sensing organs called pit organs. These are located between their eyes and nostrils. The pit organs detect infrared radiation, or heat, allowing the snake to 'see' warm-blooded animals like mice, even in total darkness.
It's not vision in the traditional sense, but it creates a thermal image in the snake's brain, kind of like night vision goggles. This gives them a huge advantage when hunting at night.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fascinating snake facts: Did you know some snakes can fly?