HowStuffWorks Newsletter
Reptiles are cold-blooded vertebrates that have scales layered over their skin. Common reptiles include lizards, snakes, alligators and crocodiles.
Topics to Explore:
At night in caves around the world, dangling snakes emerge from hiding ready to scarf up flying bats.
By Sarah Gleim
When you handle deadly snakes for a living, caution is job one. When you handle snakes for God, it is not. Let's meet some folks in both worlds.
By Julia Layton
Just how deceitful a creature is the sharp-toothed, swimming crocodile? Any more so than the other animals inhabiting our waters? They do cry, but it has nothing to do with insincerity.
Advertisement
Meet the lace monitor! View pictures, watch video, read facts, explore interactives and more.
You may encounter a rattle snake lazing in its natural habitat and want to know how to scare it away. Learn about how to scare away rattlesnakes in this article.
Learn how to breed ring-neck snakes and start a successful breeding business. Learn about how to breed a ring-neck snake in this article.
Learning how to know if a snake is venomous isn't hard. Learn about how to know if a snake is venomous in this article.
Advertisement
If you are in the Southeastern United States, you should know how to identify a pygmy rattlesnake. Learn about how to identify the pygmy rattlesnake in this article.
You can identify garden snakes, more commonly called garter snakes, by the three stripes on their backs that are reminiscent of garters. Learn about how to identify garden snakes in this article.
If you have a pet baby turtle, you surely want to know how and what to feed it. This article will tell you how to feed baby turtles.
Crocodiles look a lot like dinosaurs, and they have certain similar characteristics. But are they related at all, or are the similarities all coincidence?
Advertisement
Every once in a while, you'll hear about a giant reptile sneaking into suburbia. But have you ever wondered whether that's an alligator or crocodile leisurely drifting in your swimming pool?
Some animals are home hoppers — they'll leave small or damaged shells behind when they find better digs. Are turtles the same, or are they more invested in their keratin coverings?
That slithery, snakelike form that just darted past might not be a snake after all. It could be legless lizard, an animal that evolved from an entirely different line.
By Julia Layton
The fear of snakes, ophidiophobia, is one of the most widespread phobias in the world. There are many types of harmless snakes, but the venom from some poisonous varieties can kill a person
Advertisement
A snake can swallow an animal that’s twice as big as its own head -- and swallow it whole. Snakes are amazing creatures with some astonishing capabilities. Did you know that a few of them can even fly? Learn how snakes get around, how they kill and eat their prey, and how they court and reproduce.
By Lacy Perry
Alligators are amazing animals that have been around for millions of years. These fearsome creatures are expert predators at the top of the food chain.