I also posted this below on the thread from a few days ago about storys and Big meals:



And this reminded me of a story... I was out in the Mecca Mud Hills many years ago and found the front end of a skeleton of a cal King with the skeleton of a horned lizard stuck in its throat! The horns protruded out behind the occipital region of the kingsnake skull. It appeared that the kingsnake tried to eat the lizard and somehow the horns got stuck in its throat and it was game over for both. I gave the skeletons to Gerry Gates at the University of Redlands.



I also had a newborn Crotalus willardi eat an adult Urosaurus - a large meal in itself. Another newborn C. willardi started on the opposite end of the lizard. Not having a shortage of baby willardi, and being the inquisitive guy that I am, I decided to see what would happen.... Well headfirst swallowing little willardi ate the lizard and his littermate!!! It was the most amazing stuffed snake I have ever witnessed. My wife and I guestimated that it had consumed about 170% of his mass. He held it all down and ate again about nine days later. That being said, that type of gorging is very unusual. In my 40 years of observing in the field and captivity, it is obvious that snakes eat more small meals more regularly. I believe that consuming huge meals results from inexperience, or desperation.

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