Ever Wondered How Snakes Mate? - Animals | HowStuffWorks

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In numerous snake species, the males wrestle each other to gain access to females. For North American rat snakes, that can take the form of each combatant rearing up and then trying to pin his rival's head to the ground.

No snake has longer fangs than the Gaboon viper, whose venom-dispensing teeth can grow over 2 inches (or 5 centimeters) in length. Come breeding season, their males not only wrestle but aggressively strike at one another. However, the snakes do this with closed mouths, keeping those infamous fangs at bay.

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When it comes to actual intercourse, two's a couple, but three or more is a crowd.

Garter snakes, copperheads and anacondas all form the occasional "mating ball" or "breeding ball." We'd love to tell you this is some kind of elegant dance. But it's not; mating balls are writhing heaps created when several males all swarm over the same female in an attempt to get her pregnant. More than a dozen participants may be involved.

snakes mate
A female garter snake (she's the one with the smile on her face) is entwined in a "mating ball," sought by numerous male snakes. Chris Friesen, Oregon State University/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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