#and i cant wait to get to this section in my herpetology class

[i-m-snek]

Wait, some snakes give live birth??? They don't all lay eggs???? What! :0

Some snakes have evolved to have internal eggs instead of laying external ones, the commonly accepted answer as to why is because remaining in the mother for those particular species was safer for the babies than being externally laid. Oviparous, external egg layers, had better survival rates of laying eggs, and viviparous, live bearers, had better success when carrying the eggs within them and birthing them live :) That is one of the major differences with pythons and boas, pythons are egg bearers, boas are live bearers. One of the most interesting comparisons I have found are Green Tree Pythons VS Emerald Tree boas. Two very similar snakes, that act similarly, eat similarly, and are often mistaken for each other, have completely different ways of bearing young. Mother green tree python on eggs:

Mother Emerald Tree Boa giving birth:

Other species such as rattlesnakes and garter snakes are also viviparous!

#this is one of my favorite topics #and i cant wait to get to this section in my herpetology class #reptiblr #snakes #ask