Celebrate World Snake Day Every July 16
What’s your opinion of snakes? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Completely indifferent?
Well, if you find these scaly, slithery critters fascinating, you’ll want to celebrate World Snake Day on July 16.
That’s right the snakes have their very own day. … Days actually, because National Serpent Day happens on February 1 every year.
We don’t know who created World Snake Day or why. We suspect it was someone who liked snakes and wanted to celebrate them and raise awareness of their many good qualities.
Yes, snakes do have good qualities.
Snake Trivia
Did you know?
- We know of about 3,458 species of snakes in the world. And they live in all kinds of different environments, from dry desserts to tropical forests and mountain tops. Even the oceans.
- The only continent without any snakes is Antarctica.
- We’re still discovering new species of snakes. More than 300 new species have been described just since 2008.
- The snake shown on the American revolutionary war Gadsden flag (the one that says “Don’t tread on me”) is a timber rattlesnake.
- Carvings depicting snakes have been around for thousands of years. The earliest known ones are about 12,000 years old and decorate a temple in Turkey.
- Most snakes (about 75-80%) are non-venomous.
- Snakes are good to have around, because they help to control the population of rodents and other pests. For example, the eastern fox snake eats mice (and rats if it gets big enough). The northern red-bellied snake snacks on slugs.
- Unfortunately, many snakes may actually be endangered.
- Snakes often appear in religion, although they can have different meanings, from wickedness to wisdom and protection.
- The fear of snakes is called ophidiophobia.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficially slithery (but not slimy!) holiday.
Ideas For Celebrating World Snake Day
Get out and see some snakes. Learn more about them so you can see they’re really nothing to fear. Well, most of them anyway. There’s no reason to be afraid of your average snake, but you may want to stay away from your average black mamba or water moccasin (cottonmouth).
And the inland taipan, which is apparently the snake with the most toxic venom in the world. Yikes!
Many nature centers have special programs for World Snake Day. See if one near you is doing anything in honor of the day.
Or head for Texas and the Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo. Opened as just Snake Farm back in 1967, it’s a great place to learn about snakes and other exotic animals. And what better day to do it than World Snake Day? Check out their calendar to see what shows are happening each day.
Get the kids involved in the celebration with some snake themed crafts:
- Coiled Cobra, made using clay or modeling compound.
- Cardboard tube coiled snakes. A perfect way to reuse all those empty toilet paper rolls.
- Toilet Paper Roll Snake. A different take on turning paper rolls into a snake.
- Pull-along toy snakes, made from corks and string.
- Snake Crafts and Activities for Kids. This page from Danielle’s Place offers instructions and links for crafts like a Bubble Wrap Print Paper Snake, Snake Bracelet, Snake Puzzle and more. Hours of fun!
Moms and grandmas can get in on the fun, too. This Colorful Coral Snake is easy to crochet and sure to be a hit with any little snake lover in your life.
Finally, watch Ray Wylie Hubbard singing “Snake Farm.” Yes, it’s a bit weird, but also amusing.
