News Animals

This snake goes to extremes to play dead — and it appears to pay off

A bloody mouth and a poop-covered body seem to help the dice snake quickly escape predators

A photo of a greenish-brown dice snake with blood in its mouth

Some dice snakes fake death by filling their mouth with blood (shown) and smearing themselves in musk and poop — a trifecta of tricks that may help the snakes quickly escape predators. 

Michal Fuglevic/iStock/Getty Images Plus 

By Richard Kemeny

To avoid becoming a meal, some animals simply fake it until they make it.