Extra Practice Decodable Reading Non Fiction Snakes

There are lots of kinds of snakes. They are long and thin with no legs.They slide on the ground.

Snakes are incredible reptiles.Their long, thin bodies are very flexible and allow them to slither across the ground. There are over 3,000 different kinds of snakes on Earth, and they can be found everywhere except Antarctica.

Snakes are reptiles. They have a backbone and scales.

Snakes are cold-blooded.They cannot make their own body heat. They have scales instead of fur or feathers. Most snakes do not have live births. The baby snakes hatch from eggs. Even though, like fish, they don’t have legs, they are not fish. They have lungs and breathe air.

Snakes do not smell with their nose.

A snake does not smell with its nose. It smells by flicking its long, forked tongue in and out. It does not have outside ears. Instead, it hears by feeling vibrations on the ground through the bones in its jaws.

Snakes do not have lids on their eyes.

Instead of eyelids, snakes have clear scales over their eyes to protect them.

A snake sheds its skin.

A snake’s skin does not grow as the snake grows so he must shed it when he is too big for it. It sheds its skin several times each year. A snake sheds its skin through a process known as molting.

Snakes do not chew the things they eat.

Since a snake cannot chew, it must swallow its prey whole. Its jaws can open very wide so that it is able to swallow things bigger than its own head. Snakes are carnivores which means they eat meat.

Some snakes have fangs, but all snakes do not have fangs.

Some snakes are venemous (poisonous). Most venemous snakes have wide, triangular heads while non-venemous snakes have thin heads. Many venemous snakes have pits on their snouts. The pits sense heat and help them find their prey. Non-venemouse snakes have round pupils while venemous snakes have long slits for pupils.