Here's why:
* English doesn't have grammatical gender: Unlike languages like French or Spanish, where nouns are categorized as masculine, feminine, or neuter, English largely lacks this system.
* Gender is assigned based on meaning: English pronouns like "he," "she," and "it" are assigned based on the actual gender of the person or animal being referred to.
* Animals are typically neuter: In English, most animals are treated as neuter, so we use "it" to refer to them.
So, while a snake might be male or female biologically, grammatically, we use "it" to refer to a snake.