Re: True Predator

[Stephen Faust <smfaust@edisto.cofc.edu>]

Don't know about that. My herp club has several king cobras, incuding a 14
foot beauty, that dine on rats.

Stephen Faust                   smfaust@edisto.cofc.edu

On Wed, 18 Feb 1998, Ronald Orenstein wrote:

> >Only some snakes (most members of the Boidae family and Crotalinae
> >subfamily (pit vipers) of the Viperidae family) have heat sensitive pits
> on the
> >head by which they can detect warm bodied animals. Other snakes hunt by
> >smell and a recently dead animal would not smell differently than an alive
> one.
> >Snakes in captivity certainly accept dead animals.
> >
> >Gautam Majumdar  
> 
> Let's not forget that there are snakes specializing in eggs, and others
> that eat only snails and slugs.  King cobras eat only other snakes, and of
> course garter snakes eat frogs.  The sea snakes eat, I believe, fish.  I
> doubt that any of these snakes can rely much on the body temperature of
> their prey as a food locator.
> 
> 
> --
> Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
> International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
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>