i always thought all snakes unhinged their jaw to eat, till i was watching a snake show and said boas dont, so which snakes do and which dont?
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snake jaws
lrptls
Sep 16, 2003 05:43 AM
Replies (4)
meretseger
Sep 16, 2003 06:19 AM
Even little boas, like sand boas can. That's the only way they can swallow food items bigger around than their heads. If you watch carefully you can sometimes see your boa realign its jaw after eating a decent sized prey item . One exception may be the Calabar ground boa, which only eats baby mice. Other snakes which can't expand their jaws include primitive snakes like blind and thread snakes.
Picture- a boa unattaching its jaw
lrptls
Sep 16, 2003 05:02 PM
oh ok i get it, most snakes can unhinge their jaw, some can't, but even thous that can dont have to if its too big. thanks alot.
lrptls
Sep 16, 2003 05:02 PM
oh ok i get it, most snakes can unhinge their jaw, some can't, but even thous that can dont have to if its too big. thanks alot.
jones
Sep 17, 2003 12:19 AM
I saw that too. He's wrong. But I guess really the jaws are never eally "hinged" Thdey are pretty much free floating but attached by tendons.
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