Snake Eating Dinner-DON'T Click If Squeamish!

[pitbulllady]

Here's a pic of my seven-foot-long male Northern Pine Snake chowing down on a jumbo-sized frozen/thawed rat. This is one of my most prized snakes, one of the best-looking Northern Pines I have ever seen, and one of the sweetest. Even though he's wild-caught(I caught him on my sister's property near Patrick, SC last summer after she got me out of bed at 8 in the morning, screaming hysterically in the phone that there was a "python" in her horse pasture), he's never attempted to bite or even strike at me, though with food it's a different matter! Pine snakes, by the way, are South Carolina's largest non-venomous snakes, sometimes reaching lengths of over 9 feet, and this boy is around seven feet already and as large around as a Coke can on an empty stomach.




pitbulllady

[lizardgirl]

That snake is beautiful. ;D

[pitbulllady]

Thanks -I think so, too, but then I'm a little biased, sorta like a parent towards their own kid! He is so calm and gentle that little children can hold him(though it usually takes two because he's also HEAVY), despite his size.

pitbulllady

[RandallBoggs]

I can't see the pick, but I have seen a snake eat a mouse before.
It's pretty cool.....

.....Except....when your the mouse heh....

[lizardgirl]

It ain't a mouse- it's a rat, and a large one at that! ;D

[RandallBoggs]

Not only is he getting dinner, but he's also taking care of vermin ^_^

[pitbulllady]

I wouldn't call these rats "vermin". These are domesticated rats, bred for a purpose, which is to serve as food for captive reptiles and other carnivores in captivity, like birds of prey(one of this guy's clients is a bird of prey rehab center). These rats are not wild and are not carriers of diseases, anymore so than any other domecticated livestock animal, which is what I consider them. Like chickens, pigs, and cattle, they are bred for consuption, just not HUMAN consumption. They have to be healthy because if they aren't and someone's snakes or lizard gets sick from eating them, LeRoy can be sued, just like if you buy a steak at the supermarket and get sick from eating it, even after proper preparation and cooking. He has to feed them a very healthy and specific diet, since too much fat or protein can make them ill, as can too little, and certain additives can even affect the animal that eats the rodent. It's basically like cattle farming, just on a miniaturized scale.

pitbulllady

[RandallBoggs]

Sorry...didn't know that.....

[Mirage]

I can't see the picture; I'm getting the dreaded red-x-in-the-box of doom!

[RandallBoggs]

I still can't see it either...

[pitbulllady]

Hmmm...it is still showing up on both my computer and the sorry ones at school. Go to my DA account, pitbulllady.deviantart.com and view it there; it's the most recent pic I uploaded.

pitbulllady

[RandallBoggs]

You know....when you first look at a snake and think about it eating, allot of people probably wonder how the heck they get such large animals in their thin interior.
.....What? I know how they do it....ok..not all but....I've seen it heh...

Good pic Pitbulllady, nice catch too ^_^

[lizardgirl]

I know that snakes dislocate their jaws to get food in their mouths, and I guess their insides stretch quite a lot. ;D

[RandallBoggs]

Why do you think they're very flexable ^_^

[Mirage]

Ooh, what a beautiful snake!!