How and why snakes shed their skin
If you find a snakeskin in the wild, it's usually inside out! When it sheds, it slithers out of its old skin, like pulling a sock off your foot, so it ends up inside out! Watch the video for more information on how and why snakes shed their skin.
Check out more of our animal videos here and some of our snake-related crafts like a paper-chain snake or the snake wrist cuff.
Garter snakes of Iowa
Iowa has 28 different species of snakes, including four venomous species. (Read about the venomous snakes of Iowa here.) Most people are familiar with the garter snake, a common type of non-venomous snake, which are harmless to humans. Let’s take a look at the two kinds of garter snakes that are native to Iowa: Plains Read More »
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How a snake breathes while it eats
Just because they work for a conservation board doesn’t mean that naturalists know everything. Just last week, naturalist Ashley Hansen was feeding Rosie the corn snake when she noticed a hole open up in the snake’s mouth while it was eating a mouse — the Dickinson County Nature Center snakes are fed mice that are Read More »
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Make a bendable snake with pipe cleaner and beads
In honor of my big day today, holding a snake for the first time (you can see the video here), we made a fun snake craft. Whether you love snakes or hate them, this craft is cute and simple. You’ll need: Pipe cleaners Beads Googly eyes Liquid glue Start by selecting what kind of head Read More »
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Paper chain snake instructions
Crafts are so much more fun when the end result is actually something to play with rather than just hang on the refrigerator. This paper chain snake that can slither and wiggle is an easy and interactive craft for the snake lovers out there. And if you don’t have snake lovers, call it a caterpillar Read More »
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Ssssomething totally awesssome: Create a sssnake wrist cuff
Since this week’s blog post was about how snakes slither, I thought it only appropriate that this week’s craft also be snake related. I will pretty much guarantee that after you make this fun wrist cuff that your child will not take it off for the entire day. Or at least the next five minutes, Read More »
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Creepy but cool: How snakes can move without legs
Besides their forked tongues, probably the main thing that creeps people out about snakes is their ability to move without legs or feet. (The reason a snake sticks out its tongue, and why it’s forked.) I have to say, before I started working at the Dickinson County Nature Center, back when I was still petrified Read More »
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Feeding the nature center snakes
The naturalists make sure to wash their hands after handling the mice before picking up the snakes. They don’t want the snakes to associate people with food or being let out of their enclosures with food either so that they don’t expect to be fed every time the enclosure door is opened.
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The reason a snake sticks out its tongue
Why do snakes stick out their tongues at you? Have you ever seen this? You’ve been looking at one of the snake animal ambassadors at the nature center, and one of them sticks out her black tongue and flicks it around. She is smelling you! The snake’s tongue has a fork on the end of Read More »
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