Researchers showed a scary video of snakes literally eating themselves and why they did it.
Since ancient times, the snake eating its own tail has been considered a symbol of eternity. However, seeing this process live is nothing but witnessing a real horror. According to Science Alert, on rare occasions, mostly recorded in captivity, snakes are known to actually be able to eat their own tails, which seems very frightening.
Witnesses to this process claim that as the snake swallows more and more of its own body, the symbol of infinity gradually turns into a death spiral, literally. In fact, if someone else, like the owner, does not interfere with this process, his digestive juices will simply begin to destroy his own body.
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Researchers note that in some captive snakes, you can damage scales from gastric fluid if the reptile has a bad habit of swallowing itself.
In fact, herpetologists do not know what justifies such a strange desire of snakes to eat themselves, but they still have some assumptions. Scientists believe that snakes’ self-harming behavior may be caused by stress, illness or starvation. For example, if an animal gets too hot and has no place to hide in the shade, it can become confusing and unable to distinguish its own tail from potential prey. Also, overheating can trigger the snake’s appetite.
Something similar seems to have happened with this pet shop snake that curled up in a bowl of water and ate its own bloody tail.
Attention video contains scenes of violence!
Researchers state that even if the snake realizes what it is doing after the first bite, it can still be dangerous for it. The truth is, their bodies can protect themselves from their own poison, but sharp teeth can cause serious wounds that can fester. Because king snakes tend to eat other snakes, the species is thought to be particularly falsely prone to cannibalism.
Jessie Rotaker of Forgotten Friend Sanctuary in the US said in a 2020 video that king snakes actually bite off their tails, but rarely swallow them. However, sometimes this happens – the footage shows how the reptile not only bit itself, but literally swallowed half of its own body.
According to Rotaker, the best thing a king snake owner can do in such a situation is to gently pull the tail from the snake’s mouth. But there are other ways. For example, if you notice that your scaly pet is sucking his own body, you can bring a disinfectant to his face – as a result, he will burp his own tail in a second.
In either case, the researchers recommend taking the reptile to the vet as soon as possible to prevent inflammation or other problems.
Previously Focus He wrote that scientists have discovered that snakes use a unique technique to evade predators.
Source: Focus
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