Music for Snakes.... :D

[SerpentineDream]

Originally Posted by eminart

Well, the snakes aren't going to notice, since they are deaf. If you play it loud enough that they're detecting it, your neighbors probably aren't going to be happy. As far as your gecko, I doubt it matters there either, but try if you want.

It is my understanding that snakes are *not* completely deaf. They have ears but those are protected by scales so they don't hear very well. They pick up low frequency sounds best. Thus they rely on feeling vibrations more than on hearing things.

No?

[Doug 351]

Originally Posted by SerpentineDream

It is my understanding that snakes are *not* completely deaf. They have ears but those are protected by scales so they don't hear very well. They pick up low frequency sounds best. Thus they rely on feeling vibrations more than on hearing things.

No?

I play guitar VERY LOUDLY...If my snake wasn't deaf before...it is now. I'm nearly deaf myself. I don't think snakes hear, but are very good at feeling vibrations under them.

[eminart]

Originally Posted by SerpentineDream

It is my understanding that snakes are *not* completely deaf. They have ears but those are protected by scales so they don't hear very well. They pick up low frequency sounds best. Thus they rely on feeling vibrations more than on hearing things.

No?

There is some speculation that snakes can "hear" some airborne sounds. But, it's in a small frequency range. The vast majority of their "hearing" is almost certainly through ground vibrations.

[Scubadiver59]

Snake Anatomy
"...Snakes lack an external ear, but they do have an internal ear, and they are capable of detecting low frequency sounds ranging from 100 to 700 hertz. (A young person with normal hearing can hear frequencies between approximately 20 and 20,000 hertz.) A snake’s inner ear also allows it to detect motion, static position and sound waves traveling through the ground."

The world from the eyes of a snake
"As we explained on an earlier entry, snakes do not have neither external ears nor eardrums. Yet, they do present all the elements of the inner ear characteristic of tetrapods. What changes is the way the vibrational stimulus is transmitted, which in ophidians is accomplished via a bone called columella.
columella2Scheme of the auditory apparatus of a common snake. Image by Dan Dourson.

The columella is a small, long and thin bone attached by ligaments and cartilaginous tissues to the posterior end of the upper jaw and that articulates with the lower jaw. Snakes have one on each side of their skull, which have an equivalent function to the stapes (bones of the mammalian middle ear). The columellas are completely surrounded by tissues, so aerial, terrestrial and aquatic vibrations, are transmitted to these bones which are in contact with the fluids of the inner ear.

Yet, the snakes’ sensitivity to aerial waves is pretty much limited. For example, while human beings are able to hear aerial vibrations between 20 and 20,000 Hz, snakes can only detect vibrations between 50 and 1,000 Hz. Even though they have such limited hearing range, in some species it has been observed that they are able to receive vibrational stimuli with any body part, as these are transmitted through the bodily tissues to the columellas."

[Doug 351]

Thanks Scubadiver.