Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need to know what is the largest Prey item ever consumed by a snake.. not necessarily the ones represented by this perticular forum but by body weight proportions.. I think its 110% ie the prey was 110% bigger then the snake and succefully eaten and digested... can anyone give me COLD HARD NUMBERS with a source..
I owuld really appreciate it

Geoffrey G. Sorrell gave a talk in October at the Chicago Herp Society about "Population Ecology of the Eyelash Viper, Bothriechis schlegelii, in Western Panama."

In it he mentioned finding a neonate B. schlegelii that ate a gecko measuring in excess of 220% of body weight. He has the specifics should you contact him directly.

Actually, in the talk that Rich Crowley refers to, the speaker said that the gecko represented 147% of the weight of the eyelash viper. Sorrell stated that this was one of the largest records for any predator-prey mass ratio known for snakes

I think he identified the lizard as a “turnip-tailed gecko”. If I heard right, that would be Thecadactylus rapicauda. Not that I’d know the scientific name in a million years; I had to look it up.

Of course, as the speaker speculated, one or two meals like that and the snake could be set for a year. A far cry from the captive situations you sometimes see pictured on some of these forums (with headers like: Look at the humongous meal my snake just ate!!!) where huge meals are the norm and are frequently offered. But by the way, Patrick, I see you specified that the meal had to be “digested.” The viper in this case didn't have the opportunity; the gecko which was palped out was not re-fed.

-Joan

...

Then you'll understand why I am never without my trusty digital voice recorder. (Huh? What did he just say? I don't know. I just dozed off.) Now, if all the speakers would just use the dang microphone!

-Joan