Justification for Fantasy Snake Species whose normal state is that of the Ouroboros?

These snakes' heads are usually by their tails, so that they are shaped like a circle, or the ouroboros. Their tails branch out into sticky sweet smelling, slime like appendages, which can be retracted for movement.

However they are usually in their ouroboros state, where small animals search for food, smell the sweet smelling tail, and get trapped in the sticky tail, only inches away from the snakes head.

Occasionally, nomads would see glittering slime in caves. That is another one of their passive hunting habits where they hang in circle form at the top of caves, where the moonlight reflects on their tails, attracting insects in search of light. The bugs get stuck and are slowly digested.

Is that enough to plausibly justify why they are usually shaped like the ouroboros?

Can anyone recommend viable forms of hunting which involves them being in the shape of a circle? And are these hunting techniques viable?

And most importantly, any ideas for their name? On that note, any suggestions for the name of a shiny, sweet smelling and tasting, piezoelectric rock(more like a giant sugar crystal)? It's related to the snake, as another reason why bugs are absorbed by the tail is because the snake's tail is of similar color and smell to the rock, which animals often flock around to consume.

edited 9th Mar '17 7:02:38 PM by LambentSoul

Regrowing the sweet appendages, as you have them now, is inefficient. I'd make them berry-like fluid-filled semi-porous sacks, with the fluid of enough viscosity to trap (or at least slow down) animals when they bite into the sack. And keep in mind that that mechanism will only trap herbivores and omnivores - why would a carnivore go after something like that, let alone be able to taste sweetness?

Besides that, I think it makes sense. The snake just has to have a sense of taste that includes what its own bait sack produces, and a reason to want to eat it.

Now, as for why they're always in a circle, that's a little odd. Snakes coil for defensive purposes, so something about this Fantasy Snake should probably make it so that's not necessary. Maybe make their scale poisonous, and barbed enough that insects that get caught on them and regret that miscalculation for the rest of their brief lives - but if they lengthen out instead of round up, that makes it easier for a predator to grab them. If this works, I'd call it a Barbed Snake.

And, "Gelstone".

How do they move or drink water? Typically, animals would want to be able to move. Even Trapdoor spiders use ambush tactics than just wait for their traps to capture prey, mostly because its inefficient. Only carnivorous plants apply these tactics. While animals don't evolve to fulfill a certain goal, it does however mean that it's usually the less efficient traits get weeded out. For example, animals that live in caves usually have bad eyesight or are completely blind, mostly because they are useless and waste energy.

edited 10th Mar '17 12:33:31 AM by Ikedatakeshi

Thanks Deus Denuo! All of your ideas work very well.

Also good point Ikedatakeshi, I'm thinking about making the appendages similar to an animal's phallus. Not similar in shape or other functions, but able to be covered up(by the scales) so that the snake can travel when required.

Btw, I'm trying to find reasons why they would want to move, considering that they can get their food so easily. I don't want them to be too much like carnivorous plants.

Searching for water or moving to another location, either when food is scarce or hiding from weather.

Snakes are ectothermic. They have to move from a cold, safe place to a warm, sustaining place.

They could be coiling around stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling, and only moving down once in a while to drink the water pooling on the floor. As for a name, ourobori sounds decent enough - I've always thought it an inherently cool word anyway.

I seem to recall hearing about some kind of aquatic or amphibious animal (maybe even a sea snake or an eel-type fish) which has a tail that resembles a glowing juicy worm, which lie in wait in the sand (with only the 'wormy' bit of the tail obviously sticking out) using their tails as lures, snapping up anything that tries to eat the 'worm', and as a defence, focussing the attention of predators towards the end of the tail and away from their main body when they flee.

So... That's an idea?