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7 of the Cutest Snakes That May Slither Their Way Into Your Heart

From the Arabian Sand Boa to the Garter Snake, these snakes' googly eyes, color, or size could win you over.

ByElizabeth Gamillo
Credit: In The Light Photography/Shutterstock

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slowest-movingThere are more than 3,000 different species of snakes in the world. As members of the wilderness, they play a crucial role in ecosystems by keeping food webs in check and contributing to them. Snakes are natural predators that control pest populations like insects and small rodents but are also food for raptors and mammals.

While many snakes have menacing features or are venomous, some are harmless, look goofy, make excellent pets, or become the subject of memes on the internet. Here are seven snakes that are not only cute but are essential to their ecosystems.

(Credit: Rufus Darden)

Rufus Darden

Around social media pages like Reddit and on X, the Arabian Sand Boa has been called 'derpy' and 'dumb-looking' and even compared to a young child's drawing for its unique appearance.

The Arabian Sand Boa (Eryx jayakari) lives in the Arabian Peninsula. It is most known for its googly-like ...

  • Elizabeth Gamillo

    Elizabeth Gamillo is a staff writer for Discover and Astronomy. She has written for Science magazine as their 2018 AAAS Diverse Voices in Science Journalism Intern and was a daily contributor for Smithsonian. She is a graduate student in MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing.

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