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This is question that i have wanted to know the answer to for many years but never got around to finding out it how ever makes a great topic for discusion http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
I'm sure somebody has thought the same thing before or maby not it could just be me :confused:
Snakes have scales and thus wiggle back and forth to force the "sand" away to make a hole.
They have no appendages so they can't dig.
I also think that since they are close to the top of the food chain, they steal the burrows of prey or wimpy mammals and reptiles! Also, many snakes wriggle into crevices and enlarge them via the "wiggle thing" as described by Sixpac.
I watch too much "Discovery Channel" and "Animal Planet"...
Tony
There are only a few snakes that burrow in the sand, and most of these are desert dwellers. The rest use holes made by natural methods, ie...rain draniage, or made by digging types of animals, gophers, ect.
While out shooting Praire Dogs, I've come across more than a few snakes (rattle snakes) that made their home in empty holes in the dog town..at least they are empty when they got down eating the owners of the holes :^)
Dete
Bovine's right. My two snakes burrow into loose material, but not "dig" holes in hard earth. Their propensity for burrowing is a hunting strategy for locating vermin holes, and also for shelter.
Thanks for that you just blow one of my best openers out of the water but i did ask didn't I http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
With a shovel! Badumbum-bum. Thank you! That's it for me folks! I'll be here all week! Make sure to tip your waitresses! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif
Some info on snakes from http://simonsnakesite.tripod.com/snakebasics2.html
and I quote...
"Snakes seem to be ideally suited to arid areas, as they take most of their fluids from prey and therefore need very little water. The amount of food they need is also minimal. Being ectothermic, snakes need only one-twentieth the amount of food mammals require; they can go many months without food (though this is not recommended!). Most snakes stay in shelters such as burrows during the day, emerging at dusk and retreating when it gets too cold or when morning arrives. Their slender shape allows them to escape the potentially lethal highs and lows in the desert by crawling into crevices and burrows into which other desert-dwellers cannot. Their scales limit water loss, a very important factor in this scorching, water-deprived land. Numerous species have adapted to these arid and semi-arid conditions, including vipers such as rattlesnakes, colubrids like kingsnakes, boids and many others. Reptiles are more common in the desert than most other kinds of animals, being better suited to this barren lifestyle. Snakes are one of the most successful desert animals."
Snakes can't dig their own hole unless it is in the sand.
Now I know how they dig holes AND mate http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
Warthog