A curious snake's tongue flicks quickly to pick up scent molecules in the air. As she draws it back, the forked tongue finds two holes on the roof of her mouth. This Jacobson's organ processes the collected smells and senses what's around and where it is. If the smell is stronger on the tongue's right fork, she knows that the mouse is to her right.
We often see our snakes using this directional sense of smell during feeding time. Digger the hognose snake approaches her formerly-frozen mouse in a zig-zag pattern to triangulate her meal's precise location. She finds it quickly every time, but I imagine that the sense of smell would be even more important to a wild snake hunting a moving target.
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