How much water do balls drink & how do they do it?

[CoolioTiffany]

The snake will usually go out during the night and drink some water, or when you aren't around. I'm not sure how much they drink, but I believe they drink it 1-2 times daily as I have seen my BP drink from her water dish.

When they drink from the water dish, they put the front of their head in (where the opening of the front of the mouth is) and suck in the water. You will notice their jaw going back and forth too so they can drink. Since snakes' tongues are split like this "Y", they cannot scoop up water like dogs and cats. Their tongues are too skinny and is only used to smelling the area around the snake.

[rabernet]

I usually catch all the babies/juvies drinking water when I'm cleaning their rack. As soon as I put them back into their clean little tub with fresh water, they all seem to have to "approve" the water situation by taking a sip! LOL

[casper]

I just had my snake out and when I put him back he went into his hide and then moments later he came out and got a drink. I have witnessed my BP several times now getting a drink of water.

[Patricia]

Here are a couple more photos I took of that graceful moment. And yes, on 2 occasions immediately after eating, Patriot drank for about 5 minutes. One time I counted 70 swallows in a row. It would drink, move around, go back to drinking, move, drink, etc.

The motion is too slight to film -- at least for my digital camera -- but there is the slightest bobbing/motion of the head.
1) Slit of mouth widens by the tiniest bit
2) Tip of fork flicks down into the water
3) Tongue retracts and mouth closes
4) Swallowing action
All with that almost imperceptible bob of the head, and all done within a fraction of a second.

[blackcrystal22]

Here are a couple more photos I took of that graceful moment. And yes, on 2 occasions immediately after eating, Patriot drank for about 5 minutes. One time I counted 70 swallows in a row. It would drink, move around, go back to drinking, move, drink, etc.

The motion is too slight to film -- at least for my digital camera -- but there is the slightest bobbing/motion of the head.
1) Slit of mouth widens by the tiniest bit
2) Tip of fork flicks down into the water
3) Tongue retracts and mouth closes
4) Swallowing action
All with that almost imperceptible bob of the head, and all done within a fraction of a second.

The tongue flickers naturally because they are alert, I don't think it has anything to do with the actual drinking/suction process.

But it's curious. I see garter snakes will flicker their tongues under water when feeding on fish. Now, the real question is..
Can snakes smell underwater?