Are snakes deaf? Vibrations etc?

[I.Like.Stuff]

Ok, probably a silly question but are snakes deaf? i know they dont have any ears, but do they hear with vibrations and stuff.
Stuart want to build an enlosure in one side of the entertainment unit. I am concerned that it will bother them when the volume is loud, as it will be next to the tv and have speakers above it etc.
His argument is that on The Simpson Wacking day, the snakes were attracted to the vibrations! (Cause they're such a reliable source and all! He is convinced that they can relate to every part of life)

Please help me talk him out of it!

 

[olivehydra]

Deaf to airborne sound. They can certainly sense vibrations though, and I agree with you that next to an entertainment would not be an ideal place to house reptiles. Best to pick an area in your home with the lowest levels of "traffic" IMO.

 

[southy]

with sound, you could scream, play music and nothing would happen, but the vibrations from the sound or in your case the speaker would go through their enclosures and imo wouldn't be good for the snakes

 

[Guest]

I read somewhere that Cobras are the only snakes on earth that can pick up SOME aiborne sounds.

 

[jnglgrl]

with sound, you could scream

Thats really good2 know coz i have some shocking screaming matches in my house reguarly, lol. :lol:

 

[serpenttongue]

It is believed by several experienced herpers around the world that snakes can pick up on airborne sounds, even things like dog whistles.

 

[reptililian]

on five or six occassions I have noticed my snakes react to a loud sound, like my brothers on their bongo drums or my fire alarm going off cos I've tried to cook something again. En masse, they wake up, sit up and start looking around. I always thought it most strange.

 

[soulweaver]

i agree with ST, although a lot of what they hear is through the ground, i beleive and have heard that they can sense airborne sounds.

Ever tried putting the snake on the ground and waiting for its head to turn away then clap your hands really loud, the snake often quickly turns round at you..........

 

[I.Like.Stuff]

Thanks guys! I think i have won this one at least. He's hunting for something else he can convert now. Keeps him busy I s'pose!

 

[Haydz]

they feel vibrations they dont hear vibrations lol

 

[TrueBlue]

In a way they do hear vibrations, haydz, they have an internal ear set up which is extremely sensitive to vibrations.
There is still alot of debate around the world whether or not some snakes can pick up certain air borne sounds.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

It is widely believed that some species of colubrids can indeed hear airborne sounds. The range of frequencies is limited though and is roughly between 100Hz to 700Hz. Interesting is that the only sound a snake can make ( hiss ) apparently falls within this range.

 

[pixie]

in my experience thsy are deaf or ignoring us cause we have nothing of interest to say...

 

[Artie]

http://www.anapsid.org/reptilehearing.html

Melissa Kaplan's
Herp Care Collection
Last updated January 29, 2003

Did you hear the one about...?

©1994 Melissa Kaplan, News from the North Bay, 1(1):15



Years ago I found a reference to snakes' ability to hear, but, failing to write it down, could never locate it again. Seigel and Collins, in their Snakes: Ecology and Behavior, were not enormously enlightening: "Although there is meager behavioral evidence for hearing of airborne sounds, there is physiological evidence from several species in six families. In addition, attachment of the quadrate to the inner ear suggests that vibrational stimuli could be transmitted by the jaw. However, vibrational cues could just as likely be detected by tangoreceptors on the venter of the snake" (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. p. 121, 1993), which most of us already know ('hearing' by feeling vibrations transmitted up from the ground into the belly muscles).

I was pleased to see a short note about snake hearing ability in this month's The Vivarium (6[3]:24-25). In the "Ask the Experts" column, Winston Card responds to a snake hearing question by explaining that, while snakes lack external and middle ear structures (including the tympanum, or ear drum), they do have inner ear structures which have been shown experimentally to receive airborne sound waves.

Thus, like many other animals, snakes have two ways of detecting sounds: earthborne and airborne. The earthborne vibrations are passed through the belly muscles to special receptors along the spine and thus transmitted to the brain. Airborne sounds are transmitted to the lung from the skin receptors to the eighth cranial nerve and inner ear.

Most snakes can hear a person speaking in a normal tone of voice in a quiet room at a distance of about 10 feet (3 m). Two of my snakes have always responded to my calling their names; it's nice to know I wasn't imagining it!
Update
In February 1999 I received a note from Jamey, a visitor to my site, telling me about another website he found on snake hearing. The article, Shhh! The Snake Can Hear You, goes into more detail on the mechanics of how snakes hear.

 

[Magpie]

"Nature Australia"
Vol 28, Number 4
Autumn 2005.
"Snake Sounds"

Read it if you can, most libraries stock this mag (well they used to, it's not going to be published any more).