What’s up Fact Junkies and welcome to another unique episode showcasing the incredible world of animals! Are you ready to meet some of the most unusual and unique snakes you’ve ever seen? Snakes come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and are pretty common in most parts of the world. But there are some species of snakes with some pretty unusual quirks that are far less common than others. Some of them may even be closer to your home than you might think. From albino cobras to double-headed pythons, here are 8 of the Rarest Snakes in the world. Better stick around for #1 because this rare snake is going to blow you away.
Rainbow snakes aren’t actually that small in terms of population, but very few people have the pleasure of meeting this beautifully-colored species in real life due to its shy nature and secretive habits. Rainbow snakes grow up to around six feet long and are found in the coastal plains of the US where they mostly hang out in swamps, rivers, streams, and creeks. They spend most of their life hidden in debris and underwater vegetation, hence why the chances of you spotting one is extremely unlikely.
The name “rainbow snake” is entirely accurate because they really do look like they’ve just been snatched out of a pot of mixed paint. They have a glossy black back, red stripes, a red or pink belly, yellow patches on their sides and heads, and black spots. Basically, they look like they’ve just been fished out of a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow! Think this snake is something special? Then just wait until you meet rare snake #1!
White Cobra
If you ever come across a white cobra, you’ve just met one of the rarest snakes in the world. A white cobra isn’t so much a species of a serpent, as a regular cobra with a health condition. A white cobra is in fact just a regular cobra with laicism or albinism. If it’s leucitic, it may retain a few areas of its standard color. And if it has a patch of laicism over its eye, then its eyes tend to be blue which makes these cobras look like they’re from a whole other planet altogether. If the cobra is albino on the other hand, then it’s entirely white with red-colored eyes that literally make it look like it just slithered out of hell.
White cobras are rare for two reasons: not many of them are born with these conditions, and the ones that do barely make it into adulthood. That’s because they don’t have the needed camouflage to hide from predators and the sun causes their light skin to burn more easily. On top of that, white snakes easily regulate their body temperature (so much for being a cold-blooded animal). Case in point: what may seem like a gift of nature to our eyes, is actually a curse. So if you do stumble across one of these guys, wish it luck for its future because it’s going to need it
