[thechat] What's in the wall ...

Luther, Ron Ron.Luther at compaq.com
Wed Aug 8 12:18:50 CDT 2001


Hi Terry,


<Warning - former zoo 'education guy' out of control!>

I'm pretty sure all rattlesnakes are pit vipers ... along with some other
non-rattlesnakes like copperheads and water mocassins.  It just means they
have a "pit" on either side of their face that allows them to sense heat and
"see" into the infrared if you will.  It comes in handy helping them find
warm blooded things to eat at night.  As a kinda neat "design" feature,
their nostrils are backwards - which causes their warm exhaled breath to go
up over the top of their head and not screw up the pit sensors.  Pretty
slick!

FWIW, boas and pythons have a series of similar pits in their lips.  They
are easiest to see in close up photos of the green tree boa or the emerald
tree python.

</warning>


Yeah Joel - I've noticed a lot of snake lovers here in Texas ---- at many of
the finer restaurants in town, too!   (Deep Fried of course!)

But as a zoo keeper in Ohio once told me - "There's two kinds of animals
here in the zoo.  There's 'reptiles' .... and there's 'reptile food'."


RonL.
(Who, although he does like snakes, is actively working to find new homes
for his own "crawly guys".  The Houston zoo has agreed to take one -
paperwork pending.  He needs to follow up on a lead for a high school
biology teacher who might take the other.)





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