Snakes don’t have legs. So, they use their muscles and their scales to do the ‘walking’. They generally move around in four different ways.
In the concertina method, snakes bunch themselves up, and then throw themselves forward. In the serpentine method, snakes will push off of any bump or other surface like rocks or trees, to get going. They move in a wavy motion that most of us associate with snakes.
Side winding is a method similar to an inchworm’s movement. The snake will lift the middle of its body up, and then push it down, forcing its head to move forward. It touches the ground only at two points, and rolls its coiled body sideways like a corkscrew rolling on a table. Finally, the caterpillar method is a slow, creeping, straight movement. The snake uses some of the wide scales on its belly to grip the ground, while pushing forward with the others. Large heavy snakes like constrictors use this method.
