Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was reading the "Snake with NO TONGUE" thread and I thought about the snakes I have that may not have a tongue. If they can't recognize their prey, how can they eat? How would you assist them?

Thanks,

Ryan

I would think they should be able to recognize it via their heat pits just as well. Tho since they cannot "small" it they may be more cautious or hesitant to strike. Good Question.
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Tosha

8.10.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer

...for snakes with pits when offered live or warmed-up prey items...for other snakes, vision/movement may be enough to elicit feeding behavior...

assist-feeding involves the keeper manually placing a food item
in the snake's mouth and then further assisting as needed.

Scott J. Michaels DVM
Serpent City

A similar subject came up not too long ago. A ball has esentially 2 sets of eyes. Ones they see with and then their heat pits. Here is a tad of info on that from a zoological site:

An Extra Sense
Heat-seeking missiles of the natural world, ball pythons can easily hone in on prey in utter darkness. Along a ball python's upper jaws, several scales cup inward, each forming a deep pit containing nerves that sense infrared, or body heat. The snake can tell which direction warmth is coming from because the pits open at different angles, like an open fan of folded paper. A temperature change of only 3/1000th of a degree sends a signal to the brain, alerting the snake to the nearby meal. These labial pits, coupled with the ability to see well in darkness, spell doom for its mammalian victim.

Hope this helps.

Jeff & Starr
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