Fun Blind Snake Facts For Kids

Brahminy blind snakes or Indotyphlops braminus belong to the family Typhlopidae in the superfamily Typhlopoidea. Blind snakes are also known as Scolecophidian snakes and have numerous scales covering their body entirely from head to tail. This unique reptile is also known by the names common blind snake, flowerpot snake, brahminy blind snake, teliya snake, and island blind snake.

Blind snakes are said to be the smallest known snake species irrespective of where they may be found and are not venomous, yet they can still be problematic if they make their way inside your home. They reproduce at a fast pace and hence can procreate uncontrollable litter when inside a house. Blind snakes are quite small in size and are found almost everywhere in the world, and thus a small blind snake can sneakily and easily enter a home or a garden. They sneak their way into your house from the garden. People easily mistake a blind snake for a worm. Blind snakes are completely harmless, and you should not kill a blind snake if you encounter one; instead, you can just pick it up and move it out of your house. They generally feed on small ants and termites and are nocturnal in nature, and majorly come out during the nighttime. Some big animals, as well as a few big snakes, tend to eat small blind snakes. Most of these snakes are not endangered except a few.

To find out more interesting facts and information about other animals. You can also check out these  sea snake facts and African rock python facts for more enriching and mind-blowing facts and guides.

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What type of animal is a blind snake?

The blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus and Indotyphlops braminus) is a very common snake species found in major parts of the world. It is known to be the smallest snake species globally and definitely one of the more unique ones. They have an uncanny resemblance to an earthworm.

What class of animal does a blind snake belong to?

The brahminy blind snake (Ramphotyphlops) belongs to the class of Reptilia among the category of Amphibians and Reptiles in the animal kingdom.

How many blind snakes are there in the world?

There are numerous blind snakes spread across parts of Asia, Africa, America, Australia, and other parts of the world. The blind snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) is the more common type of blind snake found in most regions of Asia and Africa. Other types of snake (Leptotyphlops), also known as thread blind snake, are found in parts of America. Brahminy blind snakes are also called flowerpot snakes because of their size. They shouldn't be mistaken for the Leptotyphlops. There are many others as well, including the blackish blind snake and many other subspecies of the brahminy blind snake.

Where does a blind snake live?

Species of blind snakes are generally found in semiarid grasslands and tropical moist forests of Asia (western parts of China, India, Taiwan, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and other parts of southern Asia), Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, North Africa, Cambodia, Egypt, Kenya), and America (parts of Florida and Texas), Thailand, Kai Islands, The Andaman Islands, The Aru Islands, The Nicobar Islands, and many such other islands and forested lands like the western New Guinea and Madagascar. As you can see, the distribution of their species in the world is spread far and wide.

What is a blind snake's habitat?

A blind snake is a small snake species known to be a fossorial or burrowing organism that lives in deep layers of soil. They usually live in agricultural and urban areas and tropical moist forests, usually underground in nests of ants and termites. They can also be found in tropical wet forests beneath damp leaves, leaf litter, and logs beneath the soil. In urban centers, they are commonly found in farms and agricultural fields beneath the soil; they normally stay in termites' nests and love to prey on them. They are known to be burrowing species of snakes. The term burrowing refers to the fossorial nature of this species. They are also found in dry jungles and abandoned buildings, and city gardens. They spend most of their time underground.

Who do blind snakes live with?

Brahminy blind snakes are quite social in nature. They generally prefer to live in large groups. You can easily find many brahminy blind snakes in groups under wooden logs or soil rocks. They are active during the day as well as at night but are more active during the night. They usually lay new offsprings or eggs in groups and small clusters as they are quite social in nature. Their diet generally includes termites, pupae, larvae, ants, and eggs.

How long does a blind snake live?

There is no specific information about the range of lifespan of the brahminy blind snake. They are usually born as fully grown individuals. The species of brahminy blind snakes are said to be all females laying either eggs or fully grown offsprings, and they don't need any parental care.

How do they reproduce?

The brahminy blind snake species are parthenogenesis that refers to a particular form of reproduction where fertilization is not necessary to reproduce new offspring. All the known species of brahminy blind snakes are females capable of laying eggs and producing fully grown offsprings without the help of a male. A single individual is enough for this species' families to flourish because of parthenogenesis reproductive habits that blind snakes have been known for overtime.

What is their conservation status?

Brahminy blind snakes are found in abundance all over the world in different tropical moist forests and grasslands. They, therefore, don't come under any conservation status and are marked as Least Concern. However, there are certain sub-species of tiny blind snakes located on islands like Mona Island blind snakes said to be under the list of Endangered species. Christmas Island blind snake families are also under the Vulnerable category of the World Conservation Union.

What do blind snakes look like?

Brahminy blind snake looks similar to an earthworm, you can easily mistake them for some species of worm. The head and tail part of a brahminy blind snake is quite similar in terms of look. They can be identified by their degenerated eyes just beneath their opaque head scales. The body of blind snakes is encased in soft, smooth, and shiny scales that cover the entire body of this snake all the way to the tail. They have cylindrical bodies and short tails. They have a total of 199-255 middorsal scales.

How cute are they?

Brahminy blind snakes are quite small and can be compared to a worm, but they are not reported to be cute. If you like the small shiny range of colors and worms lookalike, then you might find them cute, or else they are not that cute.

How do they communicate?

Blind snakes are quite secretive and generally prefer to stay underground, and are quite sensitive to sunlight. Their eyesight is really weak, and they are not actually blind, but they can sense heat and changes in temperatures and react intensely to heat and light. They can communicate interspecifically as well as intraspecifically through the use of different pheromones. As their primary food diet is ant and termite larvae and eggs, they have certain acids and pheromones that help them get into pits of these creatures and eat their larvae without much resistance.

How big is a blind snake?

Blind snakes are said to be the smallest species of snakes known to mankind. They are quite small in size and can be roughly measured to a worm or a big coin in size. However, there are few exceptions in blind snakes that tend to grow a bit longer than other blind snakes. The Schlegel's beaked blind snake found in southern Africa can grow up to the size of 3.3 ft (1 m) in size.

How fast can a blind snake move?

Blind snakes are quite energetic and fast; they move very quickly to hide under logs when exposed to any danger or intense change in heat and light.

How much does a blind snake weigh?

Blind snakes are quite small in size, but they are covered with numerous scales. A blind snake can weigh up to 0.04 oz (1.4 g) and is considered the lightest and smallest in all families of snakes.

What are the male and female names of the species?

The male and female name of the blind snakes species is the same, and there is no such difference. Mostly brahminy blind snakes are females and are capable of reproducing and feeding alone.

What would you call a baby blind snake?

Baby blind snakes are referred to as a hatchling snake, a snakelet, or neonate. They are born fully grown and need no parental care after birth.

What do they eat?

Blind snakes come under the category of a carnivore and hence feed on small pupae of ants and termites. Small ants and other soft-bodied arthropods are counted in their diet as well. Some species of blind snakes can also eat small moths and insects, centipedes, different species of small and big ant, and their larvae.

Are they aggressive?

Blind snakes are not aggressive as they are quite small in size; they tend to hide and dig beneath the soil as soon as possible. They are not even venomous and don't fall under the category of snake species with aggressive habits. Blind snakes are quite small so they cannot bite humans.

Would they make a good pet?

Blind snakes are not very interactive with other species unless necessary and are quite secretive in nature. They are only social with their own kind. They don't make a great pet and are not commonly kept as pets, although enthusiasts will beg to differ. Caring instructions for a blind snake differ from keeper to keeper, and they are generally held in potted plants. The caring pattern is different for different blind snakes.

Did you know...

Did you know that the brahminy blind snake got its name because of its really weak eyesight and the translucent layer over its eyes? The opaque scales around the eyes of the blind snake make it even more difficult for them to see. The eyes look like small dark spots on the head, giving them their name.

The eggs of a blind snake take around 10-12 days to hatch if incubated properly and other snakes from this species give birth to fully-grown offsprings as well called precocial.

What gender is a blind snake?

All common blind snakes are inherently female and do not require sex with a male for reproduction. There are rare blind snakes that have male counterparts, too, although these are extremely rare in nature.

What is unique about blind snakes?

Blind snakes or the brahminy snakes are the smallest species of snakes in the world and are non-venomous. They are roughly a size of a coin or a worm, but the distribution of their species worldwide is quite high.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other reptiles from our gopher snake facts and boa constrictor facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable diamondback rattlesnake coloring pages.