Too hungry, snakes eat their hearts

Some snakes can survive without food for two years, by digesting their own hearts, a new study reveals. Others survive by hatching their heads to increase their chances of catching prey during the famine period.

The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Zoology , is the first study of physiological investigation in the period of solid food shortages. Marshall McCue, of the Department of Biology at the University of Arkansas, thinks that severe hunger in the snake could explain some strange stories about them in recent years.

Some snakes can survive without food for two years by digesting their own hearts (Photo: Discovery) "Too much hunger can make snakes more dangerous than other times," McCue said as he linked up. referring to anecdotes about crocodile feeding or escaping snakes that have taken strange objects, like light bulbs.

In the study, McCue to 20 pythons, 20 rat hunting snakes and 20 rattlesnakes fasting for 168 days. Then he weighed and measured their sizes at regular intervals. After fasting, snakes lose 9 to 24% of their original body weight. On average they also reduce energy consumption by 80% during the test period.

McCue said the snakes often lay still, curled up in the experimental box, and only explored their surroundings when they thought there was food around them.

The size measurement results show that snakes are usually longer than before. Especially their heads are big."Larger heads show they can choose more different types of prey."

When starved, fat is the first tissue to digest. As a result, water accumulates in the animal itself, causing them to swell about 7%. After that, the snake will digest to its heart muscle. But once they are eaten again, their hearts can quickly recover.

(Photo: Discovery)

T. An