How do snakes eat and digest food?

All snakes are carnivorous; meaning that they eat other animals. They do not eat vegetable matter and generally they catch and eat living prey, although instances have been recorded of snakes eating road-killed animals.

Because most cannot dismember their food they must eat it whole, so the select prey that can be swallowed easily or they have adaptations to cope with large prey. In some species the oung and adults eat the same but different sized prey.

In other species, there is a shift as the snake grows. For example, hatching carpet pythons eat small skinks but the adults eat rabbit, rats, possums bandicoots and even wallabies.

Digesting their food

This is where venomous snakes have an advantage over the non-venomous ones because the venom they have helps break down the tissue of the prey and also speeds up digestion. Whether venomous or not, snakes still have to keep their body temperature up to aid digestion.

If they are too cool, digestion is slowed down and there is a possibility that the prey will rot in the snakes stomach and kill it. That is why when a snake has eaten large prey it will often bask in the sun for extended periods.