If this all sounds grotesque, think about the feeding behavior of a pride of lions-the python’s method is much less messy! Constrictors are able to minimize the stress of their prey and injury to themselves by using this fast and efficient method.ĭepending on the size of the snake, pythons may eat rodents, birds, lizards, and mammals like monkeys, wallabies, pigs, or antelope. How does the snake breathe while its mouth is full? It has a special tube in the bottom of its mouth that stays open to one side to take in air. This is accomplished with rhythmic muscular contractions that pull the prey down the snake’s throat and into its stomach. PYTHON SNAKE SKINThe skull’s joints are able to flex and fold along with its extremely pliable skin to maximize the mouth space, allowing very large food items to pass through its esophagus. The snake then begins the leisurely process of unfolding its jaw and swallowing the prey whole, usually head first. The python can also feel the prey’s heart beating, so when it stops, the snake knows it is safe to release its coils and begin to eat. Instead, it squeezes tightly so that its prey can’t breathe each time its prey exhales, the constrictor tightens its coils to take up space, causing suffocation. The python doesn’t actually crush the prey and break its bones, though. It grabs its prey with its teeth, then quickly wraps coils of its body around the prey and squeezes. This helps them find warm-blooded prey even in the dark or among dense foliage. Pythons also have an additional advantage: most have special temperature-sensitive "pits,” or holes, along their jaws that can sense the heat of a nearby animal. They use both sight and smell to locate prey. Like most snakes, pythons don’t chase after their prey. Their jaws are countersunk, lower jaw fitting inside the upper jaw, which keeps dirt out of the snake’s mouth. Two exceptions are the woma and the black-headed python, the only pythons known to create their own burrow by digging with the head and scooping out the dirt by curving their neck. Most pythons seek shelter in tree branches or hollows, among reeds, in rocky outcrops, or in abandoned mammal burrows. Pythons may be active day or night, depending on species, habitat, and when prey is most active. They are found in rainforests, grasslands and savannas, woodlands, swamps, rocky outcrops, desert sand hills, and shrub lands, depending on the species. Pythons can be difficult to find and watch long enough to learn their habits. If threatened, some pythons roll into a ball and tuck their head in the coils others may try to escape, get into a striking, or “S”-shaped, position, or use their constricting power if grabbed. The snakes are most vulnerable after a large meal, when they are less inclined to move quickly. But adult pythons are also at risk from birds of prey and even lions and leopards. Pythons have predators. Small, young pythons may be attacked and eaten by a variety of birds, wild dogs and hyenas, large frogs, large insects and spiders, and even other snakes. But since they don’t have to chase their food, they don’t really need to move quickly. Pythons can’t move very fast though-only about 1 mile per hour (1.6 kilometers per hour) on open ground. This type of movement works on the ground as well as in trees. But the biggest difference is that pythons lay eggs while boas give birth to live young.īecause of their bulk, pythons move by traveling forward in a straight line, which is known as "rectilinear progression.” This is accomplished by stiffening the ribs to provide support, then lifting a set of ventral (on the belly) scales and moving them forward so the loose ends grip the surface, pushing the snake ahead. And pythons are found in the Old World (Africa, Asia, Australia) while boas live in both the Old World and the New World (North, Central, and South America). Pythons have one more bone in their head than boas do and some additional teeth. And they are considered primitive snakes with two lungs (most snakes have only one) and the remnants of hind legs and pelvic bones. These snakes are constrictors, killing their prey by wrapping around it and suffocating it. That leaves two groups: the pythons and the boas. The first thing to note is that the anaconda is a species of boa, not a separate type of snake. None of these huge snakes are venomous or evil. Reticulated pythons, boa constrictors, and anacondas are some of the biggest snakes in the world, and many people get confused about which is which. Pythons, boas, and anacondas: what's the difference? Giant snakes capture our attention as stars of monster movies.
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