We either love or fear snakes. On one hand, we have the people who would gladly pick up a snake. On the other we have those who give them wide berths and the people who outright fear them. So if any herpetologists or snake enthusiasts find this little selection boring, I’m sorry, it was meant for the rest of the world.

Snakes have colonized all continents except Antarctica because they are very effective cold-blooded predators. Their diets depend on their sizes and method of killing. Venomous snakes and constrictor snakes have different hunting methods. Some live on land, some are aquatic. Others skid across scorching deserts and some even fly. Kind of.

Enjoy, snake-fearing people!

This is the emerald tree boa from South America’s rainforests. It can grow up to 9 feet (2,7 meters) and it has the biggest teeth among no-venomous snakes. It feeds on mammals, sometimes birds, frogs and lizards. They have slow metabolisms and only need to feed once every few months. The kind of snakes that sometimes awaken from dormancy to feed are somehow scarier. Also, the females hatch the eggs in their bodies, which is highly motherly of snakes.

The snake’s only human victims are forest-faring scarf hunters with extremely ironic tastes.

Next, we have the lovely-looking horned viper:

This is a venomous species with a hunting method so good that it’s basically cheating. Few creatures dare trek the devilishly hot deserts of Africa and the Middle East. Though these places seem deserted, danger lurks from below. The horned viper buries itself in the sand and waits for small animals to pass and strikes with lightning speed. Food is scarce in those arid dunes and this snake can’t afford to lose a meal.

These vipers will never meet the elephant trunk snake found in Indonesia and Australia. It is an exclusively aquatic species and it cannot move easily on land. Unlike land snakes, it does not have flat scales on its underside.

It has bumpy ones that help it hold on to the slippery fish that make up its diet. It has no venom but it does have a weirdness factor of at least 7.

The Malagasy leaf-nosed snake looks like a vine and acts like one.

When it sets it sight on potential dinner it delivers a swift venomous blow. Fortunately, those bitten had the chance to live and tell the story of how excruciatingly painful this snake’s bite is.

Another curious aquatic species is the tentacled-snake. It is the only snake with tentacles on its snout. It uses them as sensory organs and to attract tiny fish.

It originates in Southeast Asia but people keep them as pets in aquariums. If you’ve ever wondered if snakes grow mustaches, there you go.

Most of us know about the largest snakes in the world. But how small can they get? About as big as a noodle. The 4 inch long Barbados threadsnake is so tiny it can only feed on termites, ants or their larvae. About as scary as a drawing of a snake.

The rainforests of Central Africa are home to diverse and stunning animal life. Among them is the feathered tree viper.

You can easily see why it’s named that way but what pictures can’t show is just how poisonous this 75 centimeter snake is. Since they live in secluded areas, they don’t come in contact with humans very often. When they do, humans usually swell up, feel a lot of pain and die. Pretty looking little snake but aggressive and deadly. Those of us not in the African jungle are pretty safe.

If this was a contest, the flying snake would take home the trophy. High in the treetops of India and Southeast Asia live the descendants of some of the bravest snakes. They can’t really fly but they flatten their bodies and slither in the air and can reach trees 100 meters away.