Rhaegal

Just a little snake living in a big world

[rhaegal-ballpython-blog]

Got some bonding time just mommy and noodle. I missed this little guy like crazy and was so happy he curled up in my hand after playing a bit and exploring my arms. - Sugarsocks

[rhaegal-ballpython-blog]

Just saying hi! - Spartan

[livelyspaghetti-blog]

We got our noodle!! Rhaegal is a sugar morph and we adore him already! He’s adjusting very well to his new home and seems pretty curious of everything :)

He’s adorable! Congrats on your new little guy.

[livelyspaghetti-blog]

Whose Organ?

Subtitle: Why Do Snakes Do The Flicky Tongue Thing?

I’ve discussed eyesight before, so it’s time to take a look at another sense through a snake-tinted lens. The Jacobson’s Organ – or the vomeronsal organ (VNO) – isn’t unique to snakes or even reptiles as a whole, but snakes definitely have a unique delivery method. It’s an auxiliary olfactory sense organ–in plain terms, it’s a second way in which to help build a picture of the world via smell.

While snakes have nostrils for airborne scents, their tongues are used to pick up moisture-based odors in their surrounding area. Their forked-tongues are very intentionally shaped that way! Odors exist in the air as minuscule moisture particles, which are collected by the tongue, drawn into the mouth, and pressed up against the snake’s Jacobson’s organ, located in the palate below the nasal cavity. Narrow access ducts open into two grooves, which the snake’s forked tongue grazes over, allowing the stimulus molecules to be passed up into the Jacobson’s organ itself and processed.