The Life Cycle of a Snake

Snakes are born one of two ways: either through an external, soft, leathery egg (in which case the baby snake uses its "egg tooth" to escape the egg), or through an internal egg and birthed alive.

Infancy

After a snake is born, it leaves its mother and begins looking for food; it does not need to be taught how to survive.

Shedding of Skin

As the snake grows, it becomes too large for its skin. Its eyes become cloudy and the snake becomes temporarily blind. It rubs its skin against rocks and branches, then crawls out of the skin over a process of several hours.

Mating Seasons

After the snake matures, it looks for a mate. Mating occurs in the spring in cold climates and any time of the year in warmer climates.

Courtship

Snakes leave a pheromone trail to attract the opposite sex. Some snakes, like the cobra, will battle over mates by intertwining and ramming their bodies against each other.

Copulation

After courtship, the male lifts the female's tail with its own tail, and, using an organ called the hemipenes, inserts sperm into her cloaca. The female carries the sperm for up to two months, then produces eggs.

References

• The Life Cycle of a Snake: Thematzats.com
• Life Cycle of a Snake: Buzzle.com