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Snakes are found on earth a lot - small and large, long and short, poisonous and harmless. There is such a subspecies in the extensive serpentine family, called blind-wolf.
Description
A worm-shaped blindman (or another name - “blind man”) looks more like a giant earthworm. The length rarely exceeds 30 centimeters, although some specimens are stretched up to 40 cm. But the tail is short - about 40-45 times shorter than the body, and has a small spike in the shape of a cone at the end.
The muzzle is rounded and covered with a powerful shield in which dark eyes are visible. The head is slightly flattened, narrowed towards the muzzle, and does not have a clear border with the body. The mouth is quite small, located at the bottom of the head.
Body covers are translucent and due to blood vessels the body acquires a reddish-pink hue, internal organs and processed food are visible in the intestines through the abdominal wall, the females can see how eggs are formed.
Habitat
These snakes live in different parts of the world - in the Balkans, in Small and Central Asia, the mountains of Afghanistan, Iran, in the mountains of the Caucasus. In the Russian territory, blind catnip are found in Chechnya, in the Kuban, in Dagestan. Most often these reptiles can be seen in the foothills and on the lower mountain ledges up to 1500-1700 m.
Lifestyle
He spends a significant part of his life under the strata of the earth's surface, creeps out very rarely, mostly in the twilight season. The Sleep-Maker digs under a layer of stone or under the tree roots of the burrow, in which he spends almost all the time hiding from the world.Mink snake digs with the help of the shield that is located on the face - it pushes the soil and pushes it.
As a rule, the rain is thrown out onto the surface of blind lashes - the water floods the passages and has to flee. Snakes overwinter also under the earth’s strata, delving as far as possible.
Nutrition
The diet consists almost entirely of ants. She catches these eternally working insects everywhere - in the ground, under wallowing objects, destroys anthills, eating everything - adults, larvae, white eggs. One reptile can eat up to two hundred ants a day. In addition, she eats caterpillars, various centipedes, small beetles, bed bugs of all kinds.
Breeding
These snakes breed eggs. In the spring, at the end of March - the beginning of April, their hibernation ends. The female gives off a strong scent, according to which the male finds her and the mating games begin. Snakes mate (the male tightly wraps around the back of the female's body). At the end of July, the snake lays from two to eight large ellipsoid eggs of oblong shape - up to 25 mm in length and up to 7 mm in diameter.In early September, cubs emerge from the eggs, very similar to small earthworms and they spend the entire winter period in burrows. Sexual maturity is reached in two years.
Sleep-mat sheds differently than other snakes, but quite the opposite - the skin is separated from the tail, and not as usual - from the head. If for most snakes, the skin turns the stocking inside out, then here it is separated by separate tubular pieces.
The enemies
The only protection of these snakes is the musky disgusting smell, otherwise the blind smacks are defenseless. They are saved only by the fact that they live underground. On the surface they suffer from everyone - they are devoured by large insects, lizards, frogs and toads, birds, snakes of other species. They become prey for large animals looking for food on the soil surface - for example, bears.
Special features
- There are quite long copies. The longest blind coat is 76 centimeters long.
- Many take the spike on the tail for a poisonous tooth and are afraid of the snake, believing it to be poisonous. In fact, it is completely harmless, and the tail growth allows the reptile to rest against the ground when it digs underground holes.
- Light for a snake is detrimental - hitting the sun,she may die in a few minutes.
- Snakes escape the drought by gnawing holes toward the center of the earth in search of aquifers.
- One of the peculiarities of a blindfly can be called a specific unpleasant odor that appears immediately as soon as you touch a snake. Probably, this smelly secret helps in the fight against enemies and serves as a kind of protection.
- Sleepmeys live in nature for up to 6 years.
Blind snakes are good to keep in captivity in terrariums, only ants and ant eggs must be fed without fail.
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