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Can snakes choke on their mouse prey?

TriggerHappy101

TriggerHappy101

New member
Never thought of it before, can they sufficate (choke) while swallowing their prey? Can they still breath when they are swallowing? It sometimes takes awhile for Mr. Icky to swallow his meal, thats a long time to hold his breath.
 
They can breathe because the trachea opens as a little expandable tube on the floor of their mouth. Sometimes you can see it in pictures of snakes with their mouths open. While swallowing, the tube protrudes forwards so that air can get to the lungs under the prey.

If the little tube thingie has a name, I'd be interested in learning it for my love of all things trivial.

In terms of choking, as in the prey getting stuck, I have no idea. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
 
SaulsMom said:
They can breathe because the trachea opens as a little expandable tube on the floor of their mouth. Sometimes you can see it in pictures of snakes with their mouths open. While swallowing, the tube protrudes forwards so that air can get to the lungs under the prey.

If the little tube thingie has a name, I'd be interested in learning it for my love of all things trivial.

In terms of choking, as in the prey getting stuck, I have no idea. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Click to expand...

I had a kid come into the petstore I 'work' at and as I was getting him some mice for a breeder colony, he mentioned that he had a Redtail Boa that choked to death on a rat.

Personally I think we was full of it, but you never know.
 
Here you go SaulsMom!!

"Snakes can extend their glottis anteriorly when swallowing prey. This adaptation for breathing is possible because of an elastic ligament at the mandibular symphysis".
 
I've heard people say their snakes have choked, but who knows if they were being honest or not? :shrugs: It's maybe not impossible, but I think it's fairly unlikely.
 
Plissken said:
I've heard people say their snakes have choked, but who knows if they were being honest or not? :shrugs: It's maybe not impossible, but I think it's fairly unlikely.
Click to expand...

I think it's probably an excuse to cover up the fact that their snake died because they screwed something up. I've never seen a snake 'choke,' even when swallowing meals that are far too large for it. I suppose it's possible that the food item became lodged in the throat, but it's not likely.
 
snakehips said:
Here you go SaulsMom!!

"Snakes can extend their glottis anteriorly when swallowing prey. This adaptation for breathing is possible because of an elastic ligament at the mandibular symphysis".
Click to expand...

:bowdown: Thank you!

Now I just have to figure out how to work Glottis and Mandibular Symphysis into a sentence during normal everyday speech. A Project!!
 
Instead if working those words into every day language, how bout making names out of those words...Trying to think of a name right now for our baby we've had for about 3 months.. Right now thinking Glot or Bular....have to ask my daughters when they get home today......
 
Personally, I think that if the snake was in any danger of choking, it would most likely regurg the meal, and move on. I've never seen it, but it would seem like the natural thing to do, if a snake found itself with a mouthful of too much prey.

I saw a show on Discovery Channel one night, wherein a guy walking through the Amazon Rainforest came across a full grown(read: GIGANTIC) reticulated python tryng to swallow a man head first. Apparrently the snake was stuck at the shoulders, and was making a very strange "gurgling" sound, which was interpreted as choking due to the body of the man blocking the glottular-thingamabobby. The snake was put down, regardless, in order to retrieve the body for identification and proper burial, but, they never said if the snake was actually suffocating. :shrugs:
 
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