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.
Tropical Forests Tropical forests are well known for their diversity in flora and fauna. They have a wide range of microhabitats such as terrestrial, arboreal, fossorial, and aquatic. Contrary to popular belief, the number of snakes to each species are suprisingly low in the rainforests. In contrast to tropical forests, temperate forests are not rich in snakes, neither in species nor in numbers. The cool climate of temperate regions is compounded by the canopy cover and such species that are found in this habitat are usually restricted to lightly wooded areas, forest fringes, and clearings.