Here's another googly-eyed creature you should know about. The Arabian sand boa is a non-venomous snake that has the cutest eyes on top of its head—they help it to see when it's hiding the rest of its body under sand, waiting for its next meal to come along. These ridiculous looking creatures eat whatever lizards, insects, and small mammals they can catch and squeeze to death.
In this funny as well as educational video about the Arabian sand boa, wildlife educator Ben G. Thomas says they look just like a "child's drawing" of a snake, and I can't say he's wrong.
Live Science provides more facts about these silly snakes:
Arabian sand boas are nocturnal; they spend the day buried deep in the sand and move toward the surface at dusk to hunt. And while their googly eyes are sometimes ridiculed, they are essential to these snakes' hunting strategy.
Having eyes on top of their heads enables Arabian sand boas to peek out as they lie in wait for prey to pass nearby, with the rest of their golden-brown bodies buried in the sand.
Arabian sand boas grow up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) long and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. They are one of two boa species that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young — the other egg-laying species being the Saharan sand boa (Eryx muelleri), which is found throughout Africa.
Female Arabian sand boas lay their eggs in small clutches. They have to help their young break out from the eggs when they are ready to hatch, after roughly nine weeks, because the hatchlings lack an egg-tooth — a sharp projection on the snout, which the young of other snake species use to crack open their eggshells.
Arabian sand boas are common throughout their wide range and are not thought to be threatened by human activities, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
They truly are the cutest snakes I've ever seen!
