WEBVTT - How Do Snakes Mate?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam here. You may have

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<v Speaker 1>heard about the birds and the bees, and the flowers

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<v Speaker 1>and the trees, But what about the snakes. How do

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<v Speaker 1>snakes mate? Some species, including a few very big ones,

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<v Speaker 1>can actually procreate without having sex. That's called parthenogenesis, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's one of the many reproductive oddities will be exploring today.

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<v Speaker 1>To answer this question, we've got to make like a

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<v Speaker 1>black mamba, one of the fastest living snakes, by the way,

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<v Speaker 1>and cover a lot of ground. Welcome to the wild,

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<v Speaker 1>weird world of dual penises, delayed fertilization, mama python incubators,

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<v Speaker 1>and springtime mating balls. Okay, let's start with getting together.

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<v Speaker 1>When snakes flick their tongues, they're picking up airborne chemical

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<v Speaker 1>signatures like the pheromone trails made by singles in their area.

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<v Speaker 1>Male garter snakes, how snakes, and racers have all been

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<v Speaker 1>observed trailing mature female snakes with this technique. The strategy

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't always work. Sea snakes, for example, can easily lose

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<v Speaker 1>track of a would be partner under water. Besides, pheromone

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<v Speaker 1>trails naturally degrade with the passage of time, but when

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<v Speaker 1>partners do meet, the courtship rituals can take on many forms.

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<v Speaker 1>Paper about this subject describes chin rubbing, tail quivering, and

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<v Speaker 1>coital neck biting. In numerous species, male snakes compete and

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<v Speaker 1>wrestle with each other for access to female snakes. For

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<v Speaker 1>North American rat snakes, this can take on the form

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<v Speaker 1>of each combatant rearing up and then trying to pin

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<v Speaker 1>his rival's head to the ground. No snake has longer fangs,

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<v Speaker 1>and the gaboon viper, whose venom dispensing teeth can grow

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<v Speaker 1>over two inches or five centimeters in length. Come breeding season,

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<v Speaker 1>the male snakes not only wrestle aggressively strike at one another. However,

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<v Speaker 1>the snakes do this with closed mouths, keeping those infamous

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<v Speaker 1>fangs at bay. When it comes to actual intercourse. Two

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<v Speaker 1>as a couple, but three or more isn't an unexpected crowd.

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<v Speaker 1>A species like garter snakes, copper heads, and anacondas all

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<v Speaker 1>form the occasional mating ball or breeding ball. These are

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<v Speaker 1>writhing heaps created when several males all swarm over a

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<v Speaker 1>single female in an attempt to mate. More than a

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<v Speaker 1>dozen participants may be involved. The reproductive organs of both

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<v Speaker 1>sexes are housed in the cloaca, which is a multi

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<v Speaker 1>purpose orifice located on the underside of a snake's tail.

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<v Speaker 1>List serves as the excretory opening for the digestive system

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<v Speaker 1>and for urine as well as the opening to the

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<v Speaker 1>reproductive organs instant. Only male snakes and lizards have two

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<v Speaker 1>penises apiece. These reptiles are endowed with a paired sex

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<v Speaker 1>organ called the hemy penis. There's a right hemmy penis

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<v Speaker 1>and a left hemmy penis, each connected to one of

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<v Speaker 1>the testicles. Only one penis is used during any given

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<v Speaker 1>instance of intercourse, but that doesn't mean it's counterpart, never

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<v Speaker 1>seasoning action. The second could very well come into play

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<v Speaker 1>if the male finds himself a second mate shortly afterward.

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<v Speaker 1>The hemy penis are often covered in little spikes or hooks.

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<v Speaker 1>These may enable the males to prolong sexual intercourse or

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<v Speaker 1>to do a better job of hanging on to their partners,

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<v Speaker 1>doing it not always an easy feat for lugless animals.

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<v Speaker 1>Also to improve his chances of siring offspring, a male

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<v Speaker 1>red sided garter snake, for example, will clog his partner's

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<v Speaker 1>cloaca by secreting a thick gelatinous plug temporary barrier. The

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<v Speaker 1>plug keeps his sperm from spilling out, and it blocks

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<v Speaker 1>rival males from leaving their sperm behind. A Meanwhile, female

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<v Speaker 1>snakes can using pockets of folded tissue, keep sperm isolated

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<v Speaker 1>but still liable inside their bodies for very long periods

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<v Speaker 1>of time, proactively choosing when to let them fertilize her eggs.

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<v Speaker 1>In two thousand five, a western diamond back rattlesnake who

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<v Speaker 1>had been living alone in captivity, rendered herself pregnant and

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<v Speaker 1>gave birth to a litter of offspring. To accomplish this,

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<v Speaker 1>the mother reptile used sperm should held onto for about

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<v Speaker 1>six years. Sometimes male snakes aren't needed for reproduction at all.

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<v Speaker 1>This has been observed in the green anaconda, which is

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<v Speaker 1>the world's heaviest snake, weighing upward of four hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>forty pounds that's two hundred kilos. Genetic testing reveals the

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<v Speaker 1>female green anaconda can practice parthena genesis, impregnating themselves with

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<v Speaker 1>no male contact whatsoever. And Burmese pythons, those extra large

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<v Speaker 1>snakes that have become notorious in recent years for successfully

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<v Speaker 1>invading the Florida Everglades might be able to pull off

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<v Speaker 1>the same feat. Here's a difference between pythons and anacondas

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<v Speaker 1>though the former lay eggs while the ladder give birth

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<v Speaker 1>to live young. Other live bearing serpents include rattlesnakes and

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<v Speaker 1>garter snakes. Upon laying a fresh batch of eggs, a

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<v Speaker 1>mother python will wrap her body around it. That loving

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<v Speaker 1>squeeze keeps the clutch from losing too much water and

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<v Speaker 1>promotes healthy yolk development. Very frequently, the devoted parent remains

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<v Speaker 1>coiled until the eggs hatch, and king cobra mothers painstakingly

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<v Speaker 1>build nests for their eggs out of sticks and bamboo leaves,

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<v Speaker 1>a unique behavior among snakes. The finished nests can be

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<v Speaker 1>as big as four feet over one meter in diameter.

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<v Speaker 1>Egg Sitting is one thing, but it's pretty rare for

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<v Speaker 1>snakes to take care of their actual babies. Female pit

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<v Speaker 1>vipers thus deserve special recognition. Multiple species of these venomous

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<v Speaker 1>reptiles are now known to watch over their newborn progeny

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<v Speaker 1>for several days after the little snakes first come into

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Today's episode is based on the article ever

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<v Speaker 1>wondered how Snake's mate on how stuff Works dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production of by

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's produced by Tyler Klang. Before more podcasts in

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.