Do You Know All of These Deadly Snake Facts?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Do You Know All of These Deadly Snake Facts?
Image: shutterstock

About This Quiz

Snakes: the stars of horror movies, villains in Disney movies, and even a central character in the Bible. They are usually depicted as sinister, wily, and aligned with the bad guys. They make up lies, they give bad advice and they're greedy. Bad guys even turn into them sometimes, turn other objects into them, or send them to do their evil bidding. Very rarely do you ever see a snake that is working for the forces of good.

Of course, in reality, snakes aren't any of those things. They're just trying to get by, and rarely attack a human, even more rarely other than in self-defense. However, that doesn't mean they can't do a lot of damage when they put their minds to it. There are over 600 species of deadly snake, that live across six continents, and on land, in trees, and in the water. Snakes kill thousands of people per year, most of them in environments where there is relatively little access to medical aid. 

Given how dangerous they can be, knowing a little about snakes can save your life. So let's find out whether you have the chops to stay safe if you do find yourself in a vipers' nest!

How do snakes blink?
They don't.
With their eyelids
With the scales over their eyes
One eye at a time but so fast we can't see it
Which continent has the fewest snakes?
Africa
Europe
North America
Antarctica
What are the main ways deadly snakes kill?
Ambush and venom
Hitting their prey with their tail
Constriction and venom
Constriction and surprise

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What is the longest snake ever recorded?
33 feet
42 feet
12 feet
9 feet
What is the biggest venomous snake?
Taipan
Boomslang
Green cobra
King cobra
How often do snakes typically shed their skins?
Monthly
Annually
2-4 times a year
10 times a year

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How many people do snakes kill annually?
10,000
2,000
50,000
20,000
What type of snake has a hood?
Cobras
Taipans
Rattlesnakes
Lancehead snakes
What breed of snake is the deadly Nagini from Harry Potter?
Boa
Viper
Cobra
Adder

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What's a good way to tell if a snake is poisonous, based on its head?
Its head is arrow-shaped.
It has a zig-zag pattern on its back.
If it bites you and you die, then you know.
It has a forked tongue.
What characteristic of the eye tells you that a snake is probably venomous?
It has eyelids.
It has a long pupil that is oblong with pointed ends, instead of a round one.
It has four eyes.
It has round pupils.
What kind of snake is Kaa from The Jungle Book?
A python
An adder
A cobra
A viper

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According to legend, what snake can turn you to stone just by looking at you?
One that is serving as a gorgon's hair
A basilisk
A viper
A flying snake
How does a boa constrictor reproduce?
It lays eggs an buries them for months until they hatch.
It gives birth to live young, like a mammal.
It lays eggs and tends them in a nest until they hatch.
It has eggs that stay inside the body until they hatch.
How do snakes chew?
They fold up their main fangs.
They don't, they just swallow.
In small pieces, of course.
By grinding side to side, like a cow.

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How do snakes stay warm?
They eat food and turn it into energy, like we do.
They bathe in warm water.
They build a little nest with leaves and soil.
They bask in the sun or on a heated rock.
How often does a boa constrictor hunt, at minimum?
Daily
Every few weeks
A couple times a week
Weekly
How does a boa constrictor kill its prey?
Suffocation
Crushing its bones
Cutting off the blood supply
Crushing the internal organs

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What is a "pelvic spur"?
It's the part of the snake that is its midsection.
It's a vestigial leg.
It's a special kind of scales that are on the snake's underside.
It's a way the snake undulates to go especially fast.
How many lungs do deadly snakes have?
One
Two
None
It depends.
How long does a boa constrictor live in the wild?
20 to 30 years
10 to 20 years
5 to 10 years
30 to 40 years

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What color is a coral snake?
Red, blue and yellow
Red, black and yellow
Black, white and pink
White, yellow and red
How fast can a snake strike, relative to a human blink?
It takes the length of one blink for them to strike.
Up to four times as fast
Up to three times as fast
Up to twice as fast
What trick does the spider-tailed horned viper use to catch its prey?
It lies in wait for them.
It hunts them down.
It wiggles its tail to look like a spider and attract them.
It seduces them with its hypnotic eyes.

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How do snakes hear?
With an external ear that can rise up from their head
With an internal ear that you cannot see
With echolocation like a bat
By feeling vibrations in their jaw
Where do you find flying snakes?
North Africa
Southeast Asia
Western Europe
South America
How do snakes see?
Their eyes see visible light, just like ours.
They have regular eyes and extra heat-sensing eyes.
Their skin can "see" as if it is covered in eyes.
They use echolocation..

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Which snake has the fastest strike?
Copperhead
Boomslang
Death adder
Life adder
How many people could the inland taipan kill with a single bite, in theory?
20
80
100
6
What are rattlesnakes' rattles made of?
Bone
Cartilage
Calcium
Keratin

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What is the most common toxic snake in North America?
Garter
Gaboon
Lancehead
Puff adder
How often do snakes grow new fangs?
Every 6-10 weeks
Every year
Every 6 months
Every week
What is one reason for the forked tongues of snakes?
It helps the snake to taste whether its prey is good to eat.
It helps tell the snake what direction to go.
It looks cool.
It helps get oxygen to the snake's mouth.

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How far can the Mozambique spitting cobra spit poison?
3 feet
6 feet
8 feet
10 feet
How long can an anaconda hold its breath underwater?
5 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
30 minutes