Thanksgiving at the Zoo: the Giant Appetites of Snakes, Frogs & Moles

[findi]

retired from a career spent at several zoos, aquariums, and museums, including over20 years with the Bronx Zoo[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
Articles on holiday over-eating always appear as Thanksgiving approaches. Throughout my career as a zookeeper, a variety of creatures have amazed me with their abilities to consume massive meals. Reptiles and amphibians are the most impressive diners, with a 60 pound deer, swallowed by a wild Green Anaconda, being my most notable observation. But several others take even larger meals, comparatively. For example, one Fer-de-Lance (Bothrops atrox) successfully consumed a lizard that exceeded the snake’s weight by over 50%! The 17 young Spitting Cobras taken in a single “sitting” by an African Bullfrog are also worthy of mention. From Star-nosed Moles to Asian Elephants, the mammals I’ve cared for have impressed me as well. Please feel free to quote my stories if friends and family criticize you for over-indulging this year, and have a Happy Thanksgiving! [FONT=&quot]R[/FONT]ead the rest of this article here Thanksgiving at the Zoo: The Giant Appetites of Snakes, Frogs, and Moles | That Reptile Blog [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with: That Pet Place Welcomes Frank Indiviglio | That Reptile Blog

Best Regards, Frank

 

[RavensGryf]

Fun article! Intersting how much the Star Nosed Mole ate. The elephants ate an enormous amount even if it was only 1% of their weight. That's a whole lot of food and waste daily!

How are the snakes and other herps able to eat things of odd shapes which may have horns, antlers, and hooves, or otherwise stick out sharp and long, without getting punctured inside, or damage other organs?

Also, I'd imagine if a deer had a huge full rack of antlers it would be literally impossible to ingest... Would they instinctively pass that animal up or still try, then find out and say uh oh!

Thanksgiving I'm hoping to go to a restaurant. There will be no chance of 'over' eating there. Unless I order a second plate lol..

 

[findi]

Fun article! Intersting how much the Star Nosed Mole ate. The elephants ate an enormous amount even if it was only 1% of their weight. That's a whole lot of food and waste daily!

How are the snakes and other herps able to eat things of odd shapes which may have horns, antlers, and hooves, or otherwise stick out sharp and long, without getting punctured inside, or damage other organs?

Also, I'd imagine if a deer had a huge full rack of antlers it would be literally impossible to ingest... Would they instinctively pass that animal up or still try, then find out and say uh oh!

Thanksgiving I'm hoping to go to a restaurant. There will be no chance of 'over' eating there. Unless I order a second plate lol..

Hi,

Snakes, especially ambush hunters that strike at movement w/o necessarily seeing the prey, do sometimes run into trouble. Most will back off the meal if they reach horns, etc. , but some persist. In Venezuela I found a large anaconda that had split the skin near its mouth attempting to swallow a turtle; it later died of the resulting infection. Large individuals with injuries said to be the result of trying to swallow deer horns were common...all bore cuts with similar patterns. There's a photo online of a Burmese python that expired after swallowing an alligator...meal may have ruptured internal organs/skin. Sight hunters tend to pick handleable meals, and pit vipersseem able to estimate size from the thermal profile they make of approaching animals. Have a great holiday, Frank

 

[RavensGryf]

Thank you Frank. That's interesting. Have a great holiday yourself!