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Originally posted by Kesiah
I think you'll find that snakes use heat sensors, similar to infra-red, but it's through their toungue. A snakes toungue has little heat sensors on it, which is why they continually flick it in and out.
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You might want to make sure you know what the hell you're talking about before you start delving into the anatomical purposes of a snakes tongue.
A snake uses it's tongue to pull in air, which is then inhaled by the jacobsons organ [exclusive in reptiles/herps.]; at which point the jacobsons organ extracts scent particles from the air to get a better grasp on it's surroundings, as most snakes have fairly poor eye sight.
Vipers, well, pit vipers, and some boas and pythons use 'heat pits', which give them a bit of an infra red view. You see heat pits on vipers and boids because they need to strike fast, and preferrably once, to take down their prey.
Now you know.