Snakes and Their Diet
To most people, snakes eat mice and rats. They may not consider anything else as part of their diet, as all they see and hear is the fact that many snakes, common ones, eat rodents.
Yes, there are snakes that eat rodents. Snakes that people have for pets, specifically, will eat rodents most of the time. Snakes in the wild will, too – but does that mean that is all they eat?
Of course not! Snakes can eat a variety of foods and they each have their own way of catching it. Each type of snake is different, even if there is overlap in diets. Not all eat the same foods or get their foods in the same way. It comes down to the specific snake.
The Diet of the Snake
Snakes can eat anything from small prey, like insects and eggs, to larger prey, like chicken and even deer. Again, not all snakes are the same.
Clearly, the smallest of the snakes cannot eat large prey. They are nowhere near the size to consume it, let alone pose any sort of risk to it. If they try, there is a greater risk to themselves.
Larger snakes, on the other hand, would quickly die if they attempted to eat only the diet of smaller snakes. Whether eggs or mice, or any other type of small prey, it is not enough for them. Their size requires a larger meal.
Environment will determine diet, too. The types of foods available to the snake change depending on where it lives, and this can limit and change the foods for each type. This is why human environments can drastically reduce certain snakes’ survivability. By affect the available foods, you force them out or leave them to die.
How They Catch the Food
Again, how a snake catches their food depends entirely on the type of snake. Some will lunge at their food and take a quick bite, eating it whole, while others will use their body to squeeze the prey to death before consuming it.
Snakes can hunt. They will sneak up on a prey before attacking, making sure the risk of it running is low. They will pounce, or move its body slowly around the prey, and begin killing or consuming it.
Snakes are all different. There is some overlap in food and hunting, but what they eat and the way they get their food depends on the type of snake it is.
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