It likely interferes with breathing at low pressures, can interrupt blood flow and overwhelm the prey's usual blood pressure and circulation at moderate pressures, and can interfere with neural processing and damage tissues at high pressures. In other words, constriction can work by different mechanisms at varying pressures. In conjunction with observations of oral and nasal hemorrhaging in prey, constriction pressures are also thought to interfere with neural processing by forcing blood towards the brain. Further, multiple species of snakes have been shown to constrict with pressures higher than those needed to induce cardiac arrest. Instead, a study of boa constrictors showed that constriction halts blood flow and prevents oxygen from reaching vital organs such as the heart and brain, leading to unconsciousness within seconds and cardiac arrest shortly thereafter. Also contrary to prior belief, the snake does not suffocate the victim. However, wild anacondas have been observed to cause broken bones in large prey. Ĭontrary to myth, the snake does not generally crush the prey, or break its bones. This can be a physically demanding and potentially dangerous procedure for the snake, because its metabolism is accelerated up to sevenfold and it becomes vulnerable to attack by another predator. The snake monitors the prey's heartbeat to ascertain it is dead.
The snake then wraps one or two loops around the prey, forming a constriction coil. The snake strikes at its prey and holds on, pulling the prey into its coils or, in the case of very large prey, pulling itself onto the prey. Although some species of venomous and mildly venomous snakes do use constriction to subdue their prey, most snakes which use constriction lack venom.
BOA CONSTRICTOR BITE WOUND FREE
Look up constriction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Ĭonstriction is a method used by several snake species to kill or subdue their prey.
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