Why do snakes flick their forked tongue out?
Snakes use their tongue to taste or smell the air by catching on their tongue very tiny particles. They do this to help them find their food and to find each and to find their direction. Snakes have a very special organ called a Jacobson organ that the forked tongue goes onto which helps the snake detect what the smells are on their tongue. The Jacobson’s organ is found inside the snake’s mouth. Some snakes even have special scales with pits that can detect heat. These pits that detect heat is very useful at night time when they are sometimes looking for mammals or birds with are all endotherms (warm blooded) to eat.
