Prey size!

[Sarah1228]

A friend asked me a question I really couldn't answer so I figured I would ask experienced keepers.

Do snakes attempt to eat prey that might be too large for them? Or would they not even try. What about wild snakes?

[bitsy]

Yes, sometimes their eating instinct overwhelms all other considerations.

Sometimes Corns in captivity eat things which are too big for them - maybe moved up a size too soon. This tends to be followed by a regurge (if they manage to get it down without spitting it out and giving up).

I've seen a wildlife documentary where one of the larger constrictors in the wild was found to have eaten something so large that its skin actually split. It was expected to survive.

[Sarah1228]

Yes, sometimes their eating instinct overwhelms all other considerations.

Sometimes Corns in captivity eat things which are too big for them - maybe moved up a size too soon. This tends to be followed by a regurge (if they manage to get it down without spitting it out and giving up).

I've seen a wildlife documentary where one of the larger constrictors in the wild was found to have eaten something so large that its skin actually split. It was expected to survive.

Weird! If it was too big how long would it take to regurge?

[Sarah1228]

I heard some rat snakes eat squirrels! Isn't that too big for them?? Those look like big rats with bushy tails!

[Alli_Draggy]

There's a photo in one of the everglades ranger stations of an anaconda that ate an Alligator-you can see the shape of the gator inside the snake. It's one of their items in their display on how non-native animals are messing up the ecosystem.

[Sarah1228]

I've seen some crazy pictures online. But sometimes I don't know if I could believe those pics are real!