Suppers for snakes
Snakes eat only live food. Most snakes eat rats, birds, lizards, and
rabbits. Small snakes eat mice, worms, frogs, snails, and insects.
Snakes called hook-nosed snakes eat mostly spiders. African egg-eating
snakes eat only birds’ eggs.
But guess what the favorite food of some snakes is? It’s other snakes!
Black racer snakes eat more snakes than any other kind of food. King
snakes and cobras eat lots of other snakes, too.
African Egg-Eating Snake
Snakes can swallow things that are bigger than their heads. This snake
is going to swallow a whole chicken egg.
The snake’s jaws come apart and its skin stretches. The water in its
mouth helps the egg slide easily.
Snakes don’t chew their food. They swallow it whole. Snakes can open
their mouths very wide. Their heads and bodies stretch to let in big
things.
Egg-eating snakes can swallow eggs that are bigger than their heads.
Little garter snakes can swallow whole frogs.
And big pythons can swallow whole hogs, small deer, or goats, hoofs and
all!
A bone in the snake\’s throat will crack the shell. Then the snake
will spit out the pieces.
