Nov. 9, 2022
Do you know about snakes? 🐍
Did you know? In this episode of Sleep Tight Science, we are going to start learning about snakes. With the help of Bernice and Papa Bear, we are going to learn if all snakes are poisonous, if they lay eggs, how snakes shed their skin, and more. Bernice also shares all kinds of science facts she learned at the school library. Come listen and see what she finds out.
Sleep Tight!, Sheryl & Clark
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About Sleep Tight Science
Sleep Tight Science is an engaging bedtime show for the whole family that answers the questions kids have about science. Have an interesting science topic you would like featured? Send us an email at hello@sleeptightscience.com and we may feature it in an upcoming show.
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker 1: You're listening to sleep Tight Science. Did you know that there are over three thousand different species of snakes. What that's a lot of snakes and the fastest snake can travel up to twelve miles per hour. Wow. Hello, friends, and welcome back to sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show that answers the questions you have about science. In this episode, we are going to start to learn all about snakes and try to answer some of the questions that you our listeners, have submitted about these slithery animals. We are going to learn about them by following along with the story of a little bear named Bernice, who if you listen to sleep Tight Stories you might already be familiar with. Bernice has many interests, including science, and Papa Bear and her friends are going to help her learn. Before we continue with our story, let's start learning about snakes. Snakes are long, thin reptiles without arms or legs that evolved from lizards. All snakes are carnivorous animals, and many species produce venom, which helps to kill their prey. Being reptiles, they are cold blooded animals, lay eggs and have scales. There are over three thousand different kinds of snakes. They range in size from four inches which is ten centimeters, to more than thirty feet or nine meters long. Snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Some islands, like Ireland and New Zealand, have no native snakes. Most snakes live on the ground, but some live in trees, in underground tunnels, or even in the ocean. Snake habitats range from tropical rainforests to grasslands to deserts. Snakes may have no limbs, but they are very mobile and agile. They can move in different ways for different purposes, and they use two methods of movement at the same time. The two common methods are simple and lateral undulation, where snakes create sideways bends in their bodies and use each bend to push off any surface that it comes into contact with. All snakes are vertebrates, which means they have a skeleton with a backbone. Snake's backbones are long and flexible, and snakes have internal organs too. Their throat, stomach, lungs, and liver are all elongated or made longer to fit into their long, thin body. Snakes have senses like smell and hearing that help them hunt and defend themselves. They use their long forked tongue to detect smells and find food or avoid enemies. When a snake flicks its tongue, it is smelling its environment. Some snakes have a special pit near their eyes that lets them sense small changes in temperature. This lets them know when there's food available, especially rodents or other animals. They can catch prey in total darkness by sensing the body heat of their prey. Let's listen to Bernice and Papa Beart to learn more about this interesting topic. What kind of cookies are we having today? Papa asked Bernice, who had just gotten home from school and was excited to eat her afternoon treat. I thought I might try something new today, little Bear, so I made pawprint cookies. Papa Bear replied, Wow, they look super fancy. Is that jam in the center of the cookies? It certainly is. I used Mama's homemade jam as a filling, Papa Bear said, as he set the plate full of cookies down on the table. Why don't you go get us a couple glasses and we can both have a glass of milk with our after school treat. After putting two glasses on the table, Bernice sat down and took a great big drink, leaving a milkstash on her face. I am super thirsty today, Papa, and I think I really deserve this treat. Oh yeah, Papa Bear said, with a laugh. How was school today? School was great today, Papa. I worked super hard in the library doing science research. That sounds interesting, little Bear. Why don't you tell me all about it? Well, in science class today, the teacher took us to the library. She wanted us to do some research and then come back to the class and share what we discovered. So Bobby and I teamed up and found out all kinds of things. So when will you share what you discovered with your class, Papa Bear asked, as he dipped his cookie in milk. I think tomorrow, Papa. She wants us to organize our thoughts first, and then we have to get up in front of the class and share some facts with them. That sounds like a lot of fun, little Bear. Actually it's kind of scary. Bobby loves getting up in front of people and telling them things he has learned, and sometimes he does it without permission. He is still working on waiting his turn. But it's challenging for him because he gets super excited. I get nervous, though, Papa. When I used to get up in front of people to speak, I used to get nervous too. Really, Papa, you got nervous, Sure did. It's pretty normal, little bear. But how do I get unnervous? You might always be nervous, little bear, but with practice, it will get better. And it's okay to make mistakes in front of your classmates are there to support you, and if they giggle at your mistakes, you can laugh along with them. I know you are brave and through time you will have more confidence. I will try my very best. Would you like to hear some of the facts I found? I sure would. When we went to the library to do our research, we had to try and find the answer to questions we had about animals or the world and stuff. One thing I was curious about was why flowers smell so nice? H that's an interesting question. What did you find out? I read that flowers make a scent to attract pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and other winged insects. The pollinators transfer pollen between flowers to create seeds. The sweet smell also warns other animals to search elsewhere for a snack because flowers are often toxic. Then, after I researched that, Bobby and I went and read this great, big book about science. It was so big we both had to carry it to our table. In that book, we found out all kinds of facts about the Sun. Bobby wanted to know if the Sun will ever burn out. And guess what, Papa, The Sun's core will run out of hydrogen eventually, so it will burn out. When that happens, the Sun's helium will collapse, heating up the core and expanding out to Earth as a red giant. I guess we better eat all these cookies quickly, And Papa Bear said, don't worry, Papa. The book says that won't happen for at least another five billion years. Phew, Papa Bear said, with a smile, that's good news. What else did you learn? Bobby and I learned that the Sun is a big ball of gas that makes up ninety nine point eight percent of the Solar System's mass. You could fit more than a million earths inside the Sun, Papa. A process called nuclear fusion converts hydrogen to helium deep inside the sun where temperatures are around twenty seven million degrees. I'm sweating just thinking of how hot that must be. Laughed, Papa Bear, did you write down anything else in your research? Well, I have a lot of notes that I haven't organized yet, but let me see. Oh yeah, when Bobby went in search of dinosaur fax, I researched why all the leaves on the tree had changed color. I mean, I know they changed color when it gets cold, but I was curious. Why what did you learn, Papa Bear asked. As the days grow shorter later in the year and temperatures begin to get cooler, photosynthesis slows down and produces less food. Something called chlorophyll in the leaves fades, allowing foliage to change in colors from red to yellow. It sounds like you were very busy during science today, little bear. I'm happy that you were able to learn so much, and I'm happy you shared it with me because now now I know something new too. It was fun, Papa. I really liked doing research and finding answers to questions, but I wish we had more time because Bobby and I both wanted to spend more time reading and learning about snakes. Well maybe we can learn a little bit about snakes while we eat our cookies. That would be great, Papa, But we have a problem. What's that, little bear? I think we will need more cookies. Ha ha ha. I think you are right. You get us some more cookies while I go and find some books that talk about snakes. Papa went to the living room and found some books that had some information about snakes, and again with Bernice at the kitchen table. I see you got lots of cookies for us to eat, Papa Bear said with a smile. Cookies and milk helped me learn, Papa, Bernice said, as she took a bite. All right, here is a book that I borrowed from the library about snakes, Papa Bear said as he flipped the pages of the book. Okay, it says here that snakes are long, limbless and cold blooded reptiles which evolved from lizards, and that the earliest known snake fossils are from the Jurassic period. This was between one hundred and forty three and one hundred and sixty seven million years ago. Oh, Bobby would like to know about that, Bernice said, as she wrote this fact down. She could share it with Bobby. Snakes have some special features. They have overlapping scales which help them move and climb trees. The scales have colors which may be camouflage or warning colors. Can I ask you some questions, Papa? Of course, little bear asking questions is how we all learn. Okay, are all snakes poisonous? Actually, little Bear, snakes are not poisonous, They are venomous. According to this book, the term venomous is applied to organisms that bite to inject their toxins, whereas the term poisonous applies to organisms that unload toxins when you eat them. Some poisonous animals, like frogs, have toxins on their skin within their tissues. These chemicals can be deadly to humans. Hearing this, Bernice hesitated when she picked up her next cookie. I think I will stick with cookies and milk, she said quietly. The book also says that not all snakes use venom to subdue their prey. Some, like the huge green anaconda, coil around their prey and squeeze it and squeeze it until well, you know, those anaconda snakes are really big, Papa. I think I saw one of the zoo once, but I have another question. Do snakes lay eggs? Let me look, little bear, here we go. Yes, about seventy percent of snake species lay eggs, while the other thirty percent give birth to live baby snakes. But those that lay eggs, how many eggs do they lay? Bernice asked, scanning the page. Papa Bear replied, snakes can lay up to one hundred eggs or more per year in one nest, and others lay smaller nests which hold just less than twenty five eggs. I don't think there is any way of telling how many eggs survive, but it says here in the book Little Bear, that if the mother does not find a warm place to lay her eggs, she will not lay them anywhere, in which case the eggs may not survive. That's a lot of baby snakes, Papa. Do baby snakes have teeth, yes, little Bear, most snakes have teeth, even babies, and they have four rows of teeth on top and two rows on the bottom. Wow, that's a lot of teeth to brush at night. But her baby snakes dangerous? I think perhaps adult snakes are much more dangerous, Papa Bear replied. I think I read that snakes shed their skin. Is that right, Papa, that's correct, little bear. Okay, but how many times does a snake shed its skin? Okay? Let me look at this other book for some information about snake's skin. Here we go. A snake's skin is smooth and dry. It's made of keratin like human fingernails. The scales near the head are small, while the scales on the underside of the body are thick and pert their bodies from the ground. A snake keeps growing throughout its life, but its outer skin does not. After taking a drink of milk, Papa Bear continued. Snakes periodically shed their skin as part of their lifelong process of growing, and they shed their skin between four and twelve times a year. This action of shedding is called molting and can take several days. When the skin and scales are worn out, the old layer begins to loosen near the snake's mouth. The snake scrapes its head against a rough object to break the skin loose. The snake then slowly crawls out of its skin, leaving the discarded skin intact. Although a snake grows and sheds its scales many times throughout its life, the nut and pattern of its scales stays the same. When you find the discarded snake skin, it can help you identify what kind of snake it is, but the book doesn't go quite deep enough to tell us how to do that. I have another question, Papa, and it's really important because I know Bobby would love to know this. He is always bringing up this subject in class. With a big smile, Papa Bear said, I think I know what this question is going to be already laughing, Bernice asks, do snakes poop? Papa Bear, smiling said, I knew that was going to be your question, and yes, it says right here in the book that snakes do poop. Continuing, Papa Bear said, snakes get rid of way the same way as most other animals. After their food is digested, the waste comes out in a solid state near the end of the tail, called the kloaca. But though snakes poop like other animals, they don't pee quite the same. The poop and pea both come out in a solid state. These are stinky facts, Papa Bernice said, plugging her nose. A snake's digestive process varies from species to species. They likely poop out part of the food, but since snakes eat big animals compared to their body weight, As much as half their body weight may be poop. Snakes are half full of poop, Bernie said, Giggling snakes don't eliminate as often as most animals. They can go a long time without eating. If they don't eat much, they won't poop much either. If there is nothing to digest, there is nothing to come out. But guess what. Snakes only have one opening at the end of their tail, and they use it to poop and lay eggs. It's multi purpose. That's kind of yucky, Papa, maybe it is, Little Bear. But here is one last fact about snakes before I go and start our dinner. Did you know that since they can grow very long, they can also have hundreds of ribs, which is much more than us. If you tickle snakes in their ribs, do they giggle like I do? Papa? I don't think so, but I don't think I will try. They may not like being tickled. Papa Bear said, how about we stop our little class right here and we can finish preparing dinner before Mama Bear gets home. Okay, Papa, Yes, I love you. I love you too, Little Bear. In this episode, we learned a little bit about snakes. Snakes are long, thin reptiles that have evolved from lizards. They eat meat, and a lot of them produce venom that helps kill their prey. Most snakes lay eggs and can be found all over the world except for Antarctica. Snakes are vertebrates, which mean they have a skeleton and backbone. They use their sense of smell in hearing to hunt and defend themselves. Snakes also shed their skin between four and twelve times during a year. This is called molting. This episode was made with questions from Jack and Mason from Australia. I'd like to say thank you to Bianca, Aria, Sully and JJ. We hope to have a chance to use your ideas in future episodes. If you'd like to send us your questions, please send them to Hello at sleeptightscience dot com.
Speaker 1: You're listening to sleep Tight Science. Did you know that there are over three thousand different species of snakes. What that's a lot of snakes and the fastest snake can travel up to twelve miles per hour. Wow. Hello, friends, and welcome back to sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show that answers the questions you have about science. In this episode, we are going to start to learn all about snakes and try to answer some of the questions that you our listeners, have submitted about these slithery animals. We are going to learn about them by following along with the story of a little bear named Bernice, who if you listen to sleep Tight Stories you might already be familiar with. Bernice has many interests, including science, and Papa Bear and her friends are going to help her learn. Before we continue with our story, let's start learning about snakes. Snakes are long, thin reptiles without arms or legs that evolved from lizards. All snakes are carnivorous animals, and many species produce venom, which helps to kill their prey. Being reptiles, they are cold blooded animals, lay eggs and have scales. There are over three thousand different kinds of snakes. They range in size from four inches which is ten centimeters, to more than thirty feet or nine meters long. Snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Some islands, like Ireland and New Zealand, have no native snakes. Most snakes live on the ground, but some live in trees, in underground tunnels, or even in the ocean. Snake habitats range from tropical rainforests to grasslands to deserts. Snakes may have no limbs, but they are very mobile and agile. They can move in different ways for different purposes, and they use two methods of movement at the same time. The two common methods are simple and lateral undulation, where snakes create sideways bends in their bodies and use each bend to push off any surface that it comes into contact with. All snakes are vertebrates, which means they have a skeleton with a backbone. Snake's backbones are long and flexible, and snakes have internal organs too. Their throat, stomach, lungs, and liver are all elongated or made longer to fit into their long, thin body. Snakes have senses like smell and hearing that help them hunt and defend themselves. They use their long forked tongue to detect smells and find food or avoid enemies. When a snake flicks its tongue, it is smelling its environment. Some snakes have a special pit near their eyes that lets them sense small changes in temperature. This lets them know when there's food available, especially rodents or other animals. They can catch prey in total darkness by sensing the body heat of their prey. Let's listen to Bernice and Papa Beart to learn more about this interesting topic. What kind of cookies are we having today? Papa asked Bernice, who had just gotten home from school and was excited to eat her afternoon treat. I thought I might try something new today, little Bear, so I made pawprint cookies. Papa Bear replied, Wow, they look super fancy. Is that jam in the center of the cookies? It certainly is. I used Mama's homemade jam as a filling, Papa Bear said, as he set the plate full of cookies down on the table. Why don't you go get us a couple glasses and we can both have a glass of milk with our after school treat. After putting two glasses on the table, Bernice sat down and took a great big drink, leaving a milkstash on her face. I am super thirsty today, Papa, and I think I really deserve this treat. Oh yeah, Papa Bear said, with a laugh. How was school today? School was great today, Papa. I worked super hard in the library doing science research. That sounds interesting, little Bear. Why don't you tell me all about it? Well, in science class today, the teacher took us to the library. She wanted us to do some research and then come back to the class and share what we discovered. So Bobby and I teamed up and found out all kinds of things. So when will you share what you discovered with your class, Papa Bear asked, as he dipped his cookie in milk. I think tomorrow, Papa. She wants us to organize our thoughts first, and then we have to get up in front of the class and share some facts with them. That sounds like a lot of fun, little Bear. Actually it's kind of scary. Bobby loves getting up in front of people and telling them things he has learned, and sometimes he does it without permission. He is still working on waiting his turn. But it's challenging for him because he gets super excited. I get nervous, though, Papa. When I used to get up in front of people to speak, I used to get nervous too. Really, Papa, you got nervous, Sure did. It's pretty normal, little bear. But how do I get unnervous? You might always be nervous, little bear, but with practice, it will get better. And it's okay to make mistakes in front of your classmates are there to support you, and if they giggle at your mistakes, you can laugh along with them. I know you are brave and through time you will have more confidence. I will try my very best. Would you like to hear some of the facts I found? I sure would. When we went to the library to do our research, we had to try and find the answer to questions we had about animals or the world and stuff. One thing I was curious about was why flowers smell so nice? H that's an interesting question. What did you find out? I read that flowers make a scent to attract pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and other winged insects. The pollinators transfer pollen between flowers to create seeds. The sweet smell also warns other animals to search elsewhere for a snack because flowers are often toxic. Then, after I researched that, Bobby and I went and read this great, big book about science. It was so big we both had to carry it to our table. In that book, we found out all kinds of facts about the Sun. Bobby wanted to know if the Sun will ever burn out. And guess what, Papa, The Sun's core will run out of hydrogen eventually, so it will burn out. When that happens, the Sun's helium will collapse, heating up the core and expanding out to Earth as a red giant. I guess we better eat all these cookies quickly, And Papa Bear said, don't worry, Papa. The book says that won't happen for at least another five billion years. Phew, Papa Bear said, with a smile, that's good news. What else did you learn? Bobby and I learned that the Sun is a big ball of gas that makes up ninety nine point eight percent of the Solar System's mass. You could fit more than a million earths inside the Sun, Papa. A process called nuclear fusion converts hydrogen to helium deep inside the sun where temperatures are around twenty seven million degrees. I'm sweating just thinking of how hot that must be. Laughed, Papa Bear, did you write down anything else in your research? Well, I have a lot of notes that I haven't organized yet, but let me see. Oh yeah, when Bobby went in search of dinosaur fax, I researched why all the leaves on the tree had changed color. I mean, I know they changed color when it gets cold, but I was curious. Why what did you learn, Papa Bear asked. As the days grow shorter later in the year and temperatures begin to get cooler, photosynthesis slows down and produces less food. Something called chlorophyll in the leaves fades, allowing foliage to change in colors from red to yellow. It sounds like you were very busy during science today, little bear. I'm happy that you were able to learn so much, and I'm happy you shared it with me because now now I know something new too. It was fun, Papa. I really liked doing research and finding answers to questions, but I wish we had more time because Bobby and I both wanted to spend more time reading and learning about snakes. Well maybe we can learn a little bit about snakes while we eat our cookies. That would be great, Papa, But we have a problem. What's that, little bear? I think we will need more cookies. Ha ha ha. I think you are right. You get us some more cookies while I go and find some books that talk about snakes. Papa went to the living room and found some books that had some information about snakes, and again with Bernice at the kitchen table. I see you got lots of cookies for us to eat, Papa Bear said with a smile. Cookies and milk helped me learn, Papa, Bernice said, as she took a bite. All right, here is a book that I borrowed from the library about snakes, Papa Bear said as he flipped the pages of the book. Okay, it says here that snakes are long, limbless and cold blooded reptiles which evolved from lizards, and that the earliest known snake fossils are from the Jurassic period. This was between one hundred and forty three and one hundred and sixty seven million years ago. Oh, Bobby would like to know about that, Bernice said, as she wrote this fact down. She could share it with Bobby. Snakes have some special features. They have overlapping scales which help them move and climb trees. The scales have colors which may be camouflage or warning colors. Can I ask you some questions, Papa? Of course, little bear asking questions is how we all learn. Okay, are all snakes poisonous? Actually, little Bear, snakes are not poisonous, They are venomous. According to this book, the term venomous is applied to organisms that bite to inject their toxins, whereas the term poisonous applies to organisms that unload toxins when you eat them. Some poisonous animals, like frogs, have toxins on their skin within their tissues. These chemicals can be deadly to humans. Hearing this, Bernice hesitated when she picked up her next cookie. I think I will stick with cookies and milk, she said quietly. The book also says that not all snakes use venom to subdue their prey. Some, like the huge green anaconda, coil around their prey and squeeze it and squeeze it until well, you know, those anaconda snakes are really big, Papa. I think I saw one of the zoo once, but I have another question. Do snakes lay eggs? Let me look, little bear, here we go. Yes, about seventy percent of snake species lay eggs, while the other thirty percent give birth to live baby snakes. But those that lay eggs, how many eggs do they lay? Bernice asked, scanning the page. Papa Bear replied, snakes can lay up to one hundred eggs or more per year in one nest, and others lay smaller nests which hold just less than twenty five eggs. I don't think there is any way of telling how many eggs survive, but it says here in the book Little Bear, that if the mother does not find a warm place to lay her eggs, she will not lay them anywhere, in which case the eggs may not survive. That's a lot of baby snakes, Papa. Do baby snakes have teeth, yes, little Bear, most snakes have teeth, even babies, and they have four rows of teeth on top and two rows on the bottom. Wow, that's a lot of teeth to brush at night. But her baby snakes dangerous? I think perhaps adult snakes are much more dangerous, Papa Bear replied. I think I read that snakes shed their skin. Is that right, Papa, that's correct, little bear. Okay, but how many times does a snake shed its skin? Okay? Let me look at this other book for some information about snake's skin. Here we go. A snake's skin is smooth and dry. It's made of keratin like human fingernails. The scales near the head are small, while the scales on the underside of the body are thick and pert their bodies from the ground. A snake keeps growing throughout its life, but its outer skin does not. After taking a drink of milk, Papa Bear continued. Snakes periodically shed their skin as part of their lifelong process of growing, and they shed their skin between four and twelve times a year. This action of shedding is called molting and can take several days. When the skin and scales are worn out, the old layer begins to loosen near the snake's mouth. The snake scrapes its head against a rough object to break the skin loose. The snake then slowly crawls out of its skin, leaving the discarded skin intact. Although a snake grows and sheds its scales many times throughout its life, the nut and pattern of its scales stays the same. When you find the discarded snake skin, it can help you identify what kind of snake it is, but the book doesn't go quite deep enough to tell us how to do that. I have another question, Papa, and it's really important because I know Bobby would love to know this. He is always bringing up this subject in class. With a big smile, Papa Bear said, I think I know what this question is going to be already laughing, Bernice asks, do snakes poop? Papa Bear, smiling said, I knew that was going to be your question, and yes, it says right here in the book that snakes do poop. Continuing, Papa Bear said, snakes get rid of way the same way as most other animals. After their food is digested, the waste comes out in a solid state near the end of the tail, called the kloaca. But though snakes poop like other animals, they don't pee quite the same. The poop and pea both come out in a solid state. These are stinky facts, Papa Bernice said, plugging her nose. A snake's digestive process varies from species to species. They likely poop out part of the food, but since snakes eat big animals compared to their body weight, As much as half their body weight may be poop. Snakes are half full of poop, Bernie said, Giggling snakes don't eliminate as often as most animals. They can go a long time without eating. If they don't eat much, they won't poop much either. If there is nothing to digest, there is nothing to come out. But guess what. Snakes only have one opening at the end of their tail, and they use it to poop and lay eggs. It's multi purpose. That's kind of yucky, Papa, maybe it is, Little Bear. But here is one last fact about snakes before I go and start our dinner. Did you know that since they can grow very long, they can also have hundreds of ribs, which is much more than us. If you tickle snakes in their ribs, do they giggle like I do? Papa? I don't think so, but I don't think I will try. They may not like being tickled. Papa Bear said, how about we stop our little class right here and we can finish preparing dinner before Mama Bear gets home. Okay, Papa, Yes, I love you. I love you too, Little Bear. In this episode, we learned a little bit about snakes. Snakes are long, thin reptiles that have evolved from lizards. They eat meat, and a lot of them produce venom that helps kill their prey. Most snakes lay eggs and can be found all over the world except for Antarctica. Snakes are vertebrates, which mean they have a skeleton and backbone. They use their sense of smell in hearing to hunt and defend themselves. Snakes also shed their skin between four and twelve times during a year. This is called molting. This episode was made with questions from Jack and Mason from Australia. I'd like to say thank you to Bianca, Aria, Sully and JJ. We hope to have a chance to use your ideas in future episodes. If you'd like to send us your questions, please send them to Hello at sleeptightscience dot com.