When do the eggs lay? Uzh: types, description, behavior

What interests people so much is the question of whether poison is poisonous, how to distinguish them from vipers. But in fact these reptiles of squamous snakes have quite interesting habits, a way of life, a diet. Family uzhovyh is very numerous. There are more than 1500 species. Ducks inhabit all the continents, except for Antarctica, they live in different biotopes, including in the deserts. Fans of home terrariums gladly breed these reptiles. The snakes are unpretentious, and care for them is minimal. It is the terrariumists who are most concerned with the question of when and where the eggs are laid, how to get a healthy offspring. Let's explore this problem.

Types of snakes

As already mentioned, this is a very large family. It is divided into three groups: real, false snakes and slides with copper coins. Let's look at the genus Natrix. These are real snacks. They also exist several hundred species. The most common of these is Natrix natrix, or just plain. It is found throughout Europe (except the Far North). It is for this species that we form an idea of what is so. The photo of this small snake with yellow "ears" serves as a "fotobook" to the whole family. Wrong opinion! There are species of snakes and without yellow spots - for example, Natris tesselata, inhabiting the reservoirs of Western Europe, Moldova and Ukraine. Not to mention stanzas, rather large snakes, and medynkah. But they also refer to horrors. There are poisonous species among this diverse family. Just their secret is not dangerous to humans and at worst can lead only to swelling around the place of bite.

How to distinguish horror from a viper

Two bright orange or yellow spots on the sides of the head are not the only distinguishing sign. At the snakes, at least, real, skid, and also some false, pupils are round. Whereas vipers - slit-shaped, vertically arranged. Again, this difference is the rule only in our country. In the tropics there are snakes with slit-shaped pupils. Color viper - black or dark gray - can occur on the backs and sides of its non-poisonous counterparts. So what kinds of snakes meet in our country? The most common in the European part of Russia is Natrix. The northern border of its range is the breadth of Vologda. Water is much more thermophilic. We have it only found in the Southern Volga, Kuban and the Don. And, finally, Rhabdophis tigrina, brindle, is found in the Primorsky Territory. This kind is worth mentioning specially. It is a conditionally venomous snake 110 cm long. If it happens to bite a person with short front teeth, then the wound is small and no symptoms of poisoning are observed. But it is not recommended to put a finger in the mouth of a brindle uzha - in the literal sense. In the depths of his throat (on the back of the upper jaw) there are also poisonous teeth. The secret causes poisoning, not inferior in severity to the effects of the viper bite.

Where dwells

Already, the species that inhabit a variety of landscapes, even desert, still "loves" water. He prefers wet, marsh forests or meadows. A snake holds near water bodies, and the water one lives in them. But they eat prey and, moreover, lay these reptiles on dry land. In the tropical latitudes there are woody snakes. Interestingly, they can only crawl up. Having risen on a trunk, such fades, having accepted a semblance of a branch, crouching birds. To go down, the snake curls up in a spring and jumps. In flight, she straightens the body, pulls the stomach and spreads the ribs. It turns out something like a trough-hang-glider, slowing down the fall. In these woody snakes, the pupil is also slit, but located horizontally, which allows one to see a three-dimensional image. Ordinary, already, the description of which we have already given, can reach a length of one and a half meters. He is interested in the fact that he does not shy away from human habitation. Females even lay their eggs in the chicken coops.

What feeds on

The main food of these reptiles are frogs, toads, amphibians. However, someone who eats really depends entirely on the biotype of his habitat. In semi-deserts, it eats small rodents, eggs, insects. In a mountainous area, its diet includes lizards and even snakes. Woody snacks feed on geckos, skinks, zazevavshimisya birds. The diet of the aquatic species is 60 percent composed of small fishes. Young fat-eaters eat tadpoles, insects, larvae of newts. There are kinds of "narrow specialization". For example, fatheads, living in South-East Asia, are able to extract snails from shells. They stick two front teeth into the soft body of a mollusc and begin to spin like a corkscrew. The snake-eaters live all over Africa. These small snakes (75 cm maximum). But they know how to swallow even chicken eggs. The snake simply stretches on the prey as a stocking. Inside its esophagus there is a "tooth" - the process of the spine, which pierces the egg. The liquid drains into the stomach, and the snake shell spits out.

Funny habits

A person has more chances to meet a horror than an adder. But there are fewer opportunities to catch it, because these reptiles are very agile. In addition, they realize that in a fight with a person they have nothing to defend themselves. To meet these snakes with yellow "ears" can be near the shelter, as well as in the haylofts where the eggs are laid. In the springtime, these snakes crawl out to bask in the thawed patches, the stumps and even the road. When meeting with a large opponent, he already uses an interesting tactic called "akinesia" - a false death. It turns out he is very convincing: the body as a lifeless rope, eyes rolled, mouth convulsively open, the tongue fell out. Some individuals can even put a few drops of blood out of their mouth. For the sake of persuasiveness, he shoots a smelly secret from the anus. Few people will have the desire to take a half-decayed corpse. But it's worthwhile for you to move a sufficient distance, as a reptile "Lazarus" resurrects and flies away.

Stenoses

This is a big snake, reaching a size of two or more meters in length. They also have several dozen species. They are also found in our country, especially in the south of the Far East. In the realm of serpents, sliders are excellent sprinters. Small animals prefer to run away, but large ones can show aggression towards a person. Despite the fact that the sticks are not poisonous, their large, like a dog, teeth can inflict wounds. Particularly aggressive is the yellow-belly runner that is found in Ukraine, in the countries of the Transcaucasus and in the Lower Volga region to the Ural River. Being driven into a corner, he throws himself straight in the face. He does not lag behind him in the desire to stand up for himself and spotted skid. The range of its habitat is Central Asia. And the largest non-venomous snake (if, of course, do not consider pythons and boas) - a large-eyed skid. It reaches a length of three and a half meters.

Medynka

It's not much. The photo shows a red or brown snake that is only 50 cm long, with small dark spots along its back. Copper dwells on felling and forest glades, in meadows and in the steppes. The range of its habitat is from Scandinavia and throughout Europe. We have it in the southern part of the country. Gadjukofoby mercilessly kill copper coins, confusing them with poisonous snakes. And in vain. Coppers themselves eat viper, and sometimes attack adults. However, they have poison. But he acts only in cold-blooded - lizards, the bite of a copperpin kills in seconds. But for a man he is absolutely harmless. The false soup of Latin America - the Mussoorans - feed exclusively on venomous snakes. This quality is used by farmers in Brazil and Argentina. They bred moussurans to protect their homes and herds from venomous snakes, which this false one eats.

Reproduction

These reptiles mated in the spring, usually in April. This should be taken into account by terrarium players. "Wintering" - artificial support of pets at temperatures below +10 degrees throughout the month - will increase the chances of success. Matrimonial games at the snakes are held without much interest. The male, approaching his larger lady, makes a rhythmic nod of his head. If she is calm, he approaches her and presses her lower body. Sometimes applicants for a female are much larger than one. Then the snakes form the so-called "marriage tangle". Males do not fight and do not bite each other. They just try to push the rival and continue the race. In favorable conditions (for example, in the terrarium), you can achieve two litters a year. If the early spring was replaced by frosts, too, the reproduction of which is not always subject to strict terms, can delay the laying of eggs. In this case, an interesting incomplete incubation process occurs. Embryos develop in the formed eggs inside the mother's body.

Pregnancy and birth of brood

Pregnancy lasts an average of three months. Dinner lay eggs under lying objects, the roots of trees, in empty holes, manure or rotting plant debris. The amount depends on the size of the female. A snake with a length of up to 70 cm lays about 10 eggs, more than a meter - 15-30. Inside the shell is a large yolk, surrounded by a thin layer of protein. Eggs of common horror resemble pigeons. But they are fastened "in beads" by gelatinous substance. Between those periods when the eggs lay eggs and when the cubs appear, it takes three weeks. Newborns are 15 centimeters long, but already fully viable. They feed on worms, snails and various insects. Young people can easily tame, take food from their hands.