How Snakes' Senses Compare to Ours!

Sight, Scent, Touch, Taste, and Hearing- Today we explain just how a snake's 5 senses work compared to a human's! You'll be surprised what colors they can see!

References:
Schott RK Müller J Yang CGY Bhattacharyya N Chan N Xu Morrow JM, Ghenu A-H, Loew ER, Vincent et al. 2016. "Evolutionary transformation of rod photoreceptors in the all-cone retina of a diurnal garter snake". Proc Nat Acad Sci USA. 113:356–361.

Krochmal, Aaron R.; George S. Bakken; Travis J. LaDuc. 2004. "Heat in evolution's kitchen: evolutionary perspectives on the functions and origin of the facial pit of pitvipers (Viperidae: Crotalinae)". Journal of Experimental Biology. 207 (Pt 24): 4231–4238

Greene HW. 1992. "The ecological and behavioral context for pitviper evolution". In Campbell JA, Brodie ED Jr. 1992. Biology of the Pitvipers. Texas: Selva. 467 pp. 17 plates

Wyatt, Tristram D. 2003. "Pheromones and Animal Behaviour: Communication by Smell and Taste". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bhatnagar KP, Smith TD. 2001. "The human vomeronasal organ. III. Postnatal development from infancy to the ninth decade". Journal of Anatomy. 199 (Pt 3): 289–302.

Mader, D.R. 2005. Reptile Medicine and Surgery. Saunders. pp. 50.

Friedel P, Young BA, van Hemmen JL. 2008. "Auditory localization of ground-borne vibrations in snakes". Physical Review Letters. 100 (4): 048701.

Zyga L. 2008. "Desert Snake Hears Mouse Footsteps with its Jaw". PhysOrg.

SNAKES HEAR THROUGH SKULL VIBRATION
Knight, K. 2012. "Snakes Hear Through Skull Vibration". Journal of Experimental Biology. 215: ii doi: 10.1242/jeb.069104

SNAKE DISCOVERY MERCH!

SNAKE DISCOVERY PATREON

Music by BenSound, Youtube audio library and Epidemic Sound.
Rated PG

[annyhrv]

Art teacher here: you learn the primary colors are blue, yellow and red because you are learning about paint. Blue, Green and red Works for light, thats why you see these colors in screens like tvs.

[its_not_me]

When you see Emily in her Snake Discovery shirt with her name on it, you know you are about to learn something. I think she misses doing the educational programs at schools and with other groups. Hopefully next year she can get back to doing what she obviously loves.

[newtscamander]

"Humans might even have a Jackobson's organ"

Me: *Starts flicking tongue rapidly*

[freya-the-wolf]

Also, when snakes flick their tongues, they actually create vortexes around each fork that pull the air in from the sides so that they get as many particles as possible on their tongue. This is unique to snakes, and even forked tongued lizards don't do this.

[Msnirvana]

Green tree pythons look like adorable derps

[UKFishCam]

The side by side pictures are so cool to see but seeing red is a massive win for humans

[millieh]

Everyone be complaining it’s 4am but I’m here vibing at 11 in the UK

[aki]

Snake's two-colour vision and the fact they can smell underwater are the coolest things I learned today tbh

[ibby]

Love how everyone is staying up at 4 am but me just here chilling at 11 am

[VoidHearted]

It's almost Christmas, so maybe name your green python 'Pine' or 'Cedar' or 'Evergreen'
Cause they're green trees all the time :D

[imafish]

It’s 4am but I don’t care. Snakes come before sleep.

[donnaclayton]

I learned cats make strange faces after smelling butts.

[karolynbush]

I got a snake today as my early Christmas present, his/ her name is jax, he or she is a children’s python

[MewMan]

I can't get over that you trained Mad No-Eye Moody with a dog clicker. That's amazing and I'm cackling, what a good boy.

[annajo]

I don't have a snake or anything, I just come by because these videos make me feel happy

[Voidbear_FNaF_and_Undertale]

I find it very cool you added a clicker for Mad No-Eyed Moody's feeding.

[nicolenelourens]

Hello Emily and Ed. So glad I can finally see a video within the first hour. I live In South Africa so it's difficult for me to see the video when it goes live. Hope you guys are doing well?

[laartje]

Emily: The Jacobsens organ is not only found in snakes but all lizards as well as many mammals.
Me: Frantically starts sticking my tongue in and out to see if I can smell something with my tongue.

[isMeeperMan]

I have a feeling that this is going to be popular among non snake people

[Dolce.Banana]

I love Snake Discovery and the amount of effort they put in every video to make it PG rated, educational and fun!