Snakes can't chew, so they swallow their food whole. They are
carnivores, so they usually have to catch their food first. They
usually kill their pray, by constriction or envenomation. But
some snakes eat bugs, or eggs, and don't need to kill the food.
Snakes eat other animals and you will never hear about a
vegetarian snake. Snakes are known as carnivorous reptiles.
Larger snakes will eat larger animals while small ones will eat
small animals. The smallest snakes eat insects and small
invertebrates. The snakes will eat birds or rodents after
killing them using venom or they may squeeze them to death using
constricting coils. The largest snake is the green anaconda and
it can eat larger animals such as a pig. Birds, especially those
that are young and still in the nest, will also be targeted. The
non-constricting and non-venomous snake will eat smaller prey
like small rodents or insects which they are able to seize in
their mouths and swallow. Some snakes will also eat other
snakes. One example is the king cobra with other king snakes.
They are called king since they will dominate and eat smaller
snakes. The venom of the snakes contains hemotoxins, which are
the enzymes that will break down the tissue of the victim and
help in digesting what the snake has eaten. A snake does not
have to eat as much as a mammal of its size since it is cold
blooded and it will not require too much food to generate the
right heat for their food.
The snake will need 10 percent of the same energy used by the
mammal of the same size, which means that they will need a tenth
of the food. The snakes will also drink water but also in a
small quantity. Snakes are known to eat larger animals than
their own size. They are able to do this because they are able
to unhinge their jaws to permit the passage of larger objects.
Digesting this meal will take the snake weeks and sometimes
months. When the digestion finishes, the snake will vomit the
bones and other parts that were not digested.
Snakes will eat using the same method. Since sometimes the snake
may not eat a live animal, the snakes have developed the
capacity of injecting venom in their prey in order to subdue it
or kill it before it can eat it. The venom will also give the
digestion process a kick-start. The snakes have the effective
tool of injecting the venom into its victims by the use of their
fangs. A boa constrictor will constrict the victim and kill it
before it can try to eat it. It drops on the victim while its
prehensile tail is attached on a tree.
For more information about how do snakes eat, go to my Snake
Removal - How to Get Rid of Snakes home page.
Read more articles about snakes:
What is a snake’s natural diet, and how does it obtain its food?
Do snakes drink water?