Shirley Astle, age 11, of J.1stle, N.B., for her question:
How do snakes multiply?
There are some 3,000 different snakes living in the warm and temperate zones of the earth. Most of them multiply by laying eggs few varieties, however give birth to live babies and these are the varieties most common in North America . The boas, water snakes, water moccasins, copperheads and rattlesnakes bear their young alive. Since this list includes a majority of our snakes, then less then half of our native snakes are born from eggs.
The birth of a snake is one of the wonders of nature, whether he hatches from an egg or is born alive. As a group, snakes are very shy about their private life and naturalists do not know nearly as much as they would like to know about their family habits. Some snakes we know are very neglectful parents. But some mothers try to take care of their offspring and, in rare cases, even a father snake has been known to help.
The egg‑bearing mother snake seeks out n warm, damp hiding place for her clutch. It may be an old burrow, a hole in a pile of decaying leaves, a hollow tree or even a termite .nest. If no such place is to be found, she may dig a hole in soft earth by turning and twisting.
The eggs arrive in intervals of, perhaps, 45 minutes. There may be dozens of them, each covered with P soft, elastic white shell. The snake shell is a series of webs made of fine fibers and built one upon the other as the embryo snake passes down a tube in the mother's body.
The mother who broods her clutch of eggs basks for a spell in the sun to get warm, then returns to give her warmth to the eggs. Snake eggs left to hatch for themselves get their warmth from the ground or decaying vegetation. When ready to hatch, each little fellow has an egg tooth ‑ a spike on his nose. He uses this to rip and tear the shell. It takes the little fellow almost an hour to wriggle; free. He is then very active and can feed himself from the first day. The egg tooth falls off in a couple of days.
The snakes which are born alive come out from mama's body wrapped in neat, transparent bags. The job of getting born must be quite a chore because, after he is free, the new baby may rest in his plastic cover for almost an hour. Some, however, break free from their wrappings only a few minutes after birth.
The mother snake bearing live babies becomes very restless. She finds a quiet place where she can be alone. The babies may arrive quickly one after another, or the mother may have a rest of an hour or two between each now arrival. These snakes, like the egg‑born snakes, are able to take care of themselves right away. There is no need for mama to stay around, although in some cases she guards them from enemies for a few days.