Pit Viper

• There is a group of snakes that are known as Pit Vipers.
•  Not only are these snakes venomous they also have a very 'cool' heat sensing system. 
• This helps these snakes to find prey in the dark, which is when most snakes like to hunt. The ‘pit’ is a special organ in between the eyes and the nostrils. 

• The pit senses body heat from animals and gives the snake a ‘picture’ of that animal. 
• The snake can then attack it. Some pit vipers will bite and poison the prey and then release it.
•  It will follow the dying animal, using its heat sensors, until it stops and the snake can swallow it.
•  Most pit vipers hunt at night when the air is cooler and the heat from rodents and other prey is most obvious to them. 
• The ‘heat picture’ from larger animals will tell the snake that a quick escape is a good idea.
• All rattlesnakes are Pit Vipers.  Water Moccasins, Horned Desert Viper, Lance-head, Eyelash Viper, the Copperhead, and some Tree Boas are a few other examples of pit vipers.

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Emerald Tree Boa.

The Emerald tree boa looks similar to the Green tree python . They have an irregular zigzag stripe along their back and they reach lengths between 1.5 and 2 m (5 - 5.5 ft).They spend their days coiled over branches with their head resting in the middle of the coils and they hunt at night. They live in the typical rain forest and wetlands.

These non-venomous snakes kill their prey by constriction, holding them with their mandibles and wrapping their body around these, immobilizing them and squeezing them until they die from asphyxiation. The Emerald Tree Boa has mostly arboreal habits, and rarely comes down to the ground level. They move very fast through the foliage and tree tops. When resting, they cling firmly to a branch with its tail and wrap the rest of the body.

This species is not globally threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Is included in Appendix II of CITES. Habitat destruction is the main threat to be taken into account for their future survival.

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