Adder Snakes
Introduction
Where Adders Live
AdderAdder snakes live in EuropeEurope and AsiaAsia in cold places like the ArcticArctic Circle.Circle. RattlesnakesRattlesnakes are their cousins.cousins. They live in desertsdeserts in America.America. They like to live in damp, rockyrocky places near water and in swamps, forests and grasslands.grasslands.
What Adders Look Like
Adders can be 65-100 centimetrescentimetres long. They have a long spine. They can be brown, grey or blue-grey with zig-zags on the back. This helps them hide. QuicklyQuickly flickingflicking its tongue, the adder smells and tastes its food. It uses its fangs to bite its prey and its bite is venomous.venomous. It has scales all over its body. Adders have lines for pupils in their eyes but no eyelids.eyelids. They see well and they can tell when somethingsomething warm like food is close by.
What Adders Eat and How They Move
Its colours and patterns let the adder hide in the grass. Adders eat small mammalsmammals like rats and mice, lizards,lizards, newts, frogs, insectsinsects and birds. They hide in grass and in trees to ambushambush their prey. They wrigglewriggle their tails to look like a worm. They like to sunbathe.sunbathe. They can swim and climb trees. Adders shed their skin to grow.
Adders’ Life Cycle
Adders mate in April. They give birth to 3-18 live babies. The babies ony spend a few days with their mothers.
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The venom mostly just makes people sick.
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Dangers For Adders
Adders are in dangerdanger from hawks. Lots of adders get run over by cars. People are a problemproblem too because they build where adders live and kill them for their venom to make medicine.
Conclusion
Adder snakes’ patternspatterns help them camouflage.camouflage. This means they can hide in trees to catch birds. They wriggle their tails to look like a worm. They don’t lay eggs like other snakes. I think they are amazeamazing animals and I am glad they are not endangered.endangered.
Glossary
| ambush | jump out at; jump-scare |
| Arctic Circle | imaginary line up near the North Pole |
| camouflage | hide because of colour or markings |
| fangs | sharp spikes in the mouth for biting |
| newts | little lizards |
| shed | lose |
| spine | backbone |
| venomous | poisonous |
Bibliography
Mrs Nunweek's Fact File
Snakes, by Sharon Dalgleish, published by Shortland Publications in 1999
By Reilly
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