My thoughts on the process of constriction.....

[EyeLashViper]

Hello everybody,
I will admit that one of the most fascinating aspects of snake behavior to me is the process of constriction of prey.I have heard varying accounts of what is exactly is happening to the prey animal...I have heard that it is asphyxiation that kills it and I have also heard that it is compression of the chest wall and heart that kills the prey.I must admit that I am not sure what exactly does the job but I have observed my own two Ball Pythons taking down live prey and it is amazing how rapidly a prey animal such as a mouse or rat succumbs - it must be like being wrapped in steel coils or something.I try to imagine what it must be like to go out that way.I suppose a large anaconda or reticulated python could perhaps constrict a moderate sized human being? I hope nobody is offended by this post what with me using live prey for my BPs...I would use pre-killed but I am having a hard time getting my snakes to accept the dead prey...I am still trying though....

EyelashViper

[Ironhead]

No reason for anyone to be offended. I use live prey, and would have it no other way. It is asphyxiation, they coil and apply pressure. Each time the prey let's thier breath out to try to get another breath of air, the snake constricts more thus not allowing the prey to bring any breath in at all. Then when the prey succombs to death the snake releases then enjoy's his meal. (Hopefully I didnt just talk out of my @$$)

[Jeanne]

I think there may be a little more to it than asphyxiation there, uhh, I have seen countless pics of a bp having rodent blood on it, so it may not just be asphyx. Might be both. Hmm, call the med examiner for rodents..LOL.. maybe he can help us on this one.

[Wizill]

lol... peanut's a small bp, and he makes rat's eye's pop out of their heads. (sorry for the um, harshness)

[BallKingdom]

Both maybe?

[Ironhead]

Of course there is a chance that when the BP bite's his prey that they are going to bleed but the constriction is the key to the death of it's prey.

[emroul]

I'd say it is the constriction leading the rodent to have no air left inside of its body and is not able to suck anything back in. "Suffocation"....

Something like that.
Jennifer

[phyre_st0rm]

the only time i feel bad is when the mouse is squeeking and squealing....other than that...i watch in facsination too!

[Hoomi]

A recent news editorial about the current Michael Jackson fiasco quoted, as "evidence" of his disturbed mental state, the following:

"There is a revealing anecdote about him in A Scott Berg's biography of Katherine Hepburn: Berg recalls that when the 25-year old Jackson came to Hepburn's house for dinner, he appalled the actress by telling her how he and his house-guests often gathered for entertainment to watch Jackson's pet boa constrictor, Muscles, capture, constrict and consume a helpless rodent thrown into the snake's glass cage. "

(from an Editorial in the "Telegraph" from the UK.)

Myself, I don't know that I would find watching my snake capture, kill, and then eat a rat "entertaining", but watching him manipulate the rat into position and then swallow it is incredibly fascinating. I also have a friend who used to keep Kingsnakes. He would sometimes catch a young rattlesnake while out on his desert forays, and would invite some of his buddies over to watch a Kingsnake capture, subdue, and then consume the rattler. Does that mean my friend is mentally ill, or capable of child molestation? Or does the fact that he has a degree in biology make it OK to be fascinated by the way snakes are engineered to survive?

Whether by creation or evolution (no religious debate here), snakes are a fascinating bit of biological engineering.

[pimp_n_python]

I just watched a show on big constrictors on Animal planet. They addressed the issue of what actually kills the snakes prey. It seems to be a combination of 2 things. The snake can feel when the prey item exhailes and tightens its coils so air can not be drawn into the lungs. This is not the only thing that leads to death. The second I hadn't ever heard of before. The snake can detect the prey items heart beat and concentrates its strongest muscle group wich is near its head. It constricts so hard that it press's the sternum into the heart and stops the heart from pumping. This is not proven but speculation by scientist's. So the cause of death is asphyxiation by two methods.
On a side note the show said that 2 people die every year as a result of their "pet snakes" and they interviewed people who survived attacks and what they did to survive it.
very interesting show It is called "The Big Squeeze"