Like human beings or mammals that can walk on their legs, reptiles or snakes cannot walk instead they make use of their body to move. Snake movement can be divided into four types. They are horizontal movement, concertina movement, side movement and rectilinear movement. The most common form of movement that is used by a snake is horizontal or lateral movement. In this type of movement, the snake tightens and relaxes muscles in order to produce waves that help him to move.
In doing this process, a snake moves its body so that the waves that are going backside pushes against something resistant. Because of this snakes are able to move in areas of roughness which give them some kind of grip.
The next type of movement is the concertina movement which a snake usually adopts while moving within close walls. In this snake moves its fore-part of the body and pulls the rest of its body. This helps the snake to move in close tunnels or within closed walls.
The third type of movement is the sidewinding movement which snakes adopt while moving on sand or other surfaces that offer no resistance. In this, the snake turns its whole body in s- shape. Because of this, only two points of its body comes into contact with the ground. It then shifts the contact to its backside causing the snake to move.
The last type of movement is called a rectilinear movement in which the snake slides its back and forth and this type of movement is possible only in rattlesnakes and boas.
