That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information
Like most reptile keepers, I have often marveled at the efficiency of snake digestive systems. I attributed their abilities to break down bone to “powerful digestive enzymes”, but recent research has shown that, at least for Burmese Pythons (Python molurus), a far more complex and amazing process is at work.
Digesting Large Vertebrates
I’ve observed some quite large snake feasts – a Red Foot Tortoise and a 60 pound deer taken by Green Anacondas (the tortoise was an unfortunate exhibit mate; the deer fell to an anaconda at my study site in Venezuela) and 40 pound pigs regularly fed to Reticulated and Burmese Pythons under my care at the Bronx Zoo, for example.
A few shell scutes, hoofs, some bone fragments and fur where all that passed in the feces of these snakes – the rest being digested. How do they do it?
Bone-Digesting Cells
Research at the Louis Pasteur and Indiana Universities has revealed that, after feeding, the digestive systems of Burmese Pythons undergo a dramatic transformation. New cells are produced and worn-out cells die and are eliminated in preparation for the work at hand.
Studies of the small intestine have uncovered a new type of cell, previously unknown to science. These cells are responsible for degrading bone and releasing its components into the snake’s bloodstream. This process promotes efficient calcium absorption, and may be the reason that most captive snakes do not require a UVB source if fed a diet comprised of whole rats, mice and other vertebrates.
Warm-Blooded Snakes? Not Quite, but…
We’ve known for some time now that Burmese Pythons break the “cold-blooded” rule when digesting their meals. While most snakes must seek out a hot basking spot in order to maximize digestion, Burmese Pythons can actually raise their internal temperatures without an external heat source!
Further Reading
Please see Big Snake Meals for some examples of how large (and unusual) snake prey can be.
To read about recent research concerning another unusual snake feeding adaptation, please see How Snakes Grow despite Food Deprivation.
An account of the original research showing that pythons can raise their body temperatures may be found in this Journal of Herpetology article.
Hello Frank,
I recently acquired a tanzanian egg-eating snake after doing a good amt of research.(D. scabra) I read you’ve had much experience with these species. Any helpful pointers(temp, enclosure(seem to be a bit arboreal in tendency), amt of food eaten, breeding?) Thanks! It was sold to me as a young female and has not been fed yet(going to try some finch eggs from a petstore here).
Hello Joseph, Frank Indiviglio here.
Interesting animals – when disturbed, they rub those overly-keeled scales together, definitely bringing to mind the saw-scaled viper that shares much of their range in Africa.
Those I’ve had have been very shy, reluctant to feed when on view but otherwise hearty. Quail eggs (especially of the Chinese painted quail, which is quite small) are another option if available. Adults fed every 10-14 days when kept at 80F with a basking site (rarely used) of 86. The few mating records I have were in July-August; 8-10 eggs laid 30-35 days later. At 82F, incubation takes 45-55 days; our hatch rate was not very high, but had only a few breeders.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello Frank,
Interesting stuff! Can you recall by any chance the length of your females when they first bred? I understand they get up to about 3 feet. Mine is somewhere between around 1.5 feet so I’m guessing won’t be ready till at least next year. She hides by day but at lights out is quite active.
Thanks much!
~Joseph
Hello Joseph, Frank Indiviglio here.
They vary a great deal from population to population, but I believe 2 feet was about the average size at maturity; 2 years of age is given in some references as well.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello Frank,
Looking through photos I suspect I have Dasypeltis medici instead of D. scabra(both which occur in Tanzania, the former less well known/imported). She more closely resembles the photos of medici I’ve seen on the web. I have pictures of her and her eating if you are interested. Their hasn’t been much success with this species it seems as the longevitiy record at pondturtle.com database is only 8 yrs compared to 20+ for scabra, and I can’t find any reports of successful breeding in captivity. Do you happen to know anything about this species? On a yahoogroup mailing list(egg-eater) it is claimed that medici is smaller and slimmer than scabra and less likely to take thick shelled quail eggs.
That being said, mine ate 2 cockatiel and one ringneck dove egg in the course of 6 hours.
Any advice would be great.
~Joseph
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Glad to hear the snake is doing so well. D, scabra and the 2 subspecies of D. medici vary so much in appearance that I’ve been confused more than once when looking over shipments coming out of Tanzania and elsewhere nearby. Those that looked to be D. medici were kept as were scabra. A co-worker who wound up working closely with both African and Indian species had D. medici medici for 12-15 years. Unfortunately, the longevity recoding system at pondturtle is no longer updated regularly, so much falls through the cracks. When Frank Slavens was doing it by hand (literally) almost nothing was missed – really was an amazing herculean effort.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello Frank,
As an update this snake has been recently feeding on store bought quail eggs(I did not see it as I was away for break but a roomie got part of it on video…the snake’s skin is thin enough that you can see the spots on the egg while it is inside the snake!)…which means I no longer have to go running around to petstores to obtain eggs and perhaps medici is just every bit as able as scabra to take large eggs. This also means any extra food items for this snake I can just cook up myself.(couldn’t say that for FT rats). If I do manage to breed these I think I will need a finch colony though!(or perhaps find a finch breeder since they don’t seem to lay many eggs in petstores)
Do you think their is a way to freeze eggs w/o them cracking? Do you FT eggs would be a possibility for these snakes? I’ve heard eggs can last for about a month in the fridge but I don’t think I would trust pet store food bowl eggs in the fridge for that long, even after rinsing and wiping them dry. However, these being store bought and I’d assume cleaner since meant for human consumption maybe that would be nice.
She has shed successfully for me and consumed yet another quail egg last night. I am trying to get this on film but so far she is eluding me!
All the Best
~Joseph
Hi Joseph, Frank Indiviglio here.
Thanks for the update and good news…please let me know if you do film it. I’ve used quail eggs that were refrigerated for at least 3 weeks; check around a bit but I’ve heard the 1 month rule as well.
You have to assume that all eggs harbor Salmonella – not type that bothers herps usually but a risk to people, so just take care where you place eggs, etc., for your own safety ( I contracted Salmonella from eggs as a kid, no fun at all!)
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
Hello Frank, interesting news and a problem.
I happened to get a LTC male from the same person who imported the female(were likely all kept together before female was sold to someone else and then myself). He resisted being kept in his temp enclosure so I thought why not put them together for a bit and see what happens? Anyway, he got down to business almost immediately. Female at first seemed a bit agitated and appeared to puff out her throat slightly but then calmed down but their would be occasional loud hissing noises from the tank as the snakes moved rapidly amongst each other. However, it seems mating is quite rough as it involves a mating bite(got some photos). The male would grab the female’s head, neck, or midsection and move almost in a chewing motion. As of this morning I noticed the female has a pretty large area of lighter colored(abraded I’d assume) scales. Male has a few too…perhaps from rubbing on some tank decor…I can’t think of anything sharp in there? He was actually locked up when I looked in on them and disconnected and went into an adjacent hide…currently no further interest in th female.
Do you think I should seperate them to protect the female? Wonder if the mating was successful?(wondering if the male pulled out before he actually ejected sperm or if it is a slow trickle). Also, how should I deal with these abrasions?
Thanks!
Hello Joseph, Frank Indiviglio here.
Interesting indeed! Great to hear. Male snakes will sometimes harass females even after having bred – not sure with these but would be better to remove him. To assure successful copulation, you can reintroduce from time to time…this would be safer than leaving them together. The move will likely stimulate him to try right away, so stay nearby (maybe with a camera?).
Abrasions usually heal well if not too deep, none of the problems you see with amphibs, but you can apply some over the counter Triple Antibiotic Cream to be on the safe side.
Good luck and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.