Fancy Fangs Most snakes’ fangs are in the front of their mouths. But a few snakes, like the boomslang, have fangs in the back. T e boomslang is a venomous tree snake in Africa. It feeds on lizards, birds, and rodents. When the boomslang strikes at prey, its


fangs fl ip forward. It lunges and sinks its fangs into its prey. T e snake releases its prey and waits for the venom to work. While it’s waiting, this snake will fl ick its tongue to smell and follow the prey. Soon, the prey dies and can be eaten.


FAST FACT:


After swallowing food, snakes appear to yawn. They do this to make the skull bones that have moved apart slip back into place.


Open Wide Snakes have diff erent ways of killing prey, but all snakes eat in the same way. T ey eat their prey whole, even if the prey is much bigger than they are. Snakes have teeth, but they don’t chew.


Teeth grab, hook, and hold prey. A snake’s jawbones expand to make way for large prey. A band of stretchy tissue connects the snake’s jaws to its skull. T e two sides of the jawbone work separately. T e snake’s mouth can open wide and stretch. When eating, the Japanese rat snake


“walks” its lower jaw under the prey. Its teeth grip the prey. One side of the jaw pulls in. At the same time, the other side moves forward. Its skin stretches. Strong muscles crush the food and push it into the snake’s stomach. T e rat snake can swallow an egg quickly. Yet digestion can be slow.


A Japanese rat snake swallows a large egg.


8 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


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