Poisonous Snakes?

[Anonymous]

Ok so Uk has the Adder... Ireland hasnt any snakes at all (due i belive to the ice age etc) But are thier other nasty snakes in Europe?... i havent heard of many realy . i presume Spain has some?.... anyone know?.... I alsom presume colder = less snakes... tho i dont know... as most wildlife things concentrate on more spectacular places like Africa etc...

 

[carole]

I thought there were no snakes in Ireland because St Patrick chucked 'em all out?

Carole

 

[Anonymous]

I thought there were no snakes in Ireland because St Patrick chucked 'em all out?

Carole

he caused the ice sheets?...maybe he did u never realy know do u..

 

[Pete Younger]

Have a look here.

 

[Anonymous]

there are a number of species of viper across Europe, mostly in the South East down by the Aegean, although nothing that is liable to kill you.

 

[Anonymous]

To answer your point about whether colder = less snakes, the answer is yes. Snakes are poikilothermic (the correct term for cold-blooded) so their activity varies according to ambient temperature. In cold climates, they cannot survive, as they would not have the energy to hunt for food etc.
Actually there ARE snakes in Ireland. I saw some large ones there, including a python as thick as my leg and at least 12ft long, and a puff adder. However, they were in Dublin Zoo.
Despite the lack of snakes in the wild in Ireland, I think grass snakes and adders would do well there, and should possibly be introduced. Ireland is quite sparsely populated, there is a lot of grassland and wetland etc. I can't see they'd be any harm. Still, it's up to them if they don't want 'em I guess.

Big Bill Robinson

 

[Anonymous]

Have a look here.

as i suspected..nothin spectaclur til u get to the realy hot bits.... but some non poison ones...is there a reason for this?.... has man hunted all the deadly ones to extinction?..or is ther some advantage in cold climates to be harmless to bigger animals?...

 

[TVgeek]

Or could it be the competition amongst other snakes.

The aggressive, dangerous ones are "successful"
in the Darwinian sense, and get the good climate.

The "better natured" snakes have been driven into
the not-so-good, but liveable climates... and adapted
to what they have found there. (No need for poison
because the rodents move slower, etc...)

Just a thought.

TVgeek

 

[Anonymous]

Or could it be the competition amongst other snakes.

. (No need for poison
because the rodents move slower, etc...)

Just a thought.

TVgeek

yes could be..i saw some nutter snake hunter going to an island with a population of snake to all intents and porposes the same species as a niebouring island , expect they had very much more deadly venom, cos they fed on birds and needed then to die close to them. ... i sopose makeing venom when u dont need it is a high energy bizness.

 

[Anonymous]

i saw some nutter snake hunter going to an island with a population of snake to all intents and porposes the same species as a niebouring island , expect they had very much more deadly venom, cos they fed on birds and needed then to die close to them. ... i sopose makeing venom when u dont need it is a high energy bizness.

That would be Mark O'Shea and the Chappell Island Tiger Snakes:
http://www.markoshea.tv/series2/series02-10.html

I don't think that venomous snakes necesssarily 'get the good climate': in Europe, adders live much farther north than the most northerly non-venomous snakes. In the UK, grass snakes don't live in more than a couple of locations in Scotland, but adders are found right up to the far north.

The reason for this is that grass snakes are egg-laying, but adders are live-bearing. Grass snakes need warmth to incubate their eggs, but adders don't.

There are more venomous snakes in hotter countries, but there are more non-venomous snakes there as well. Australia is exceptional in having more venomous snake species than non-venomous.

It's thought that there are more large reptiles in hot countries because of surface area to volume ratios- a large reptile will have a smaller proportional surface area, so will be less able to warm up by basking.

 

[Anonymous]

adders live much farther north than the most northerly non-venomous snakes. In the UK, grass snakes don't live in more than a couple of locations in Scotland, but adders are found right up to the far north.

The reason for this is that grass snakes are egg-laying, but adders are live-bearing. Grass snakes need warmth to incubate their eggs, but adders don't.

now that is avery good point.. how many snakes give birth to live young?... and why is the adder diferent?

 

[Anonymous]

now that is avery good point.. how many snakes give birth to live young?... and why is the adder diferent?

With a few exceptions, vipers and boas have live young, pythons and elapids (cobras, kraits, tiger snakes, taipans, sea snakes etc) lay eggs. Of the colubrids (typical snakes, e.g. grass snakes, rat snakes, king snakes, garter snakes), some have live young, but most species lay eggs. I'm not sure about the more obscure snake families...

In the UK, most reptile species are live-bearing (adder, smooth snake, common lizard, slow-worm). The two egg-laying species (grass snake and sand lizard) have to use particularly hot habitats to lay their eggs- grass snakes use rotting vegetation, which produces its own heat, sand lizards use patches of open sand that are exposed to the sun.

 

[ginoide]

"there are a number of species of viper across Europe, mostly in the South East down by the Aegean, although nothing that is liable to kill you."


there are vipers in italy and, yes, they can kill you given the right conditions (e.g. if you start running in panic and help the poison spread all over your body throuh the blood instead of sitting, being calm and waiting for a chopper to bring you the antidote from the closest hospital...)