70 



FOOD 



entirely an animal feeder, killing and eating crustaceans, 

 molluscs and fishes. 



Snakes are entirely carnivorous, and their method of feeding 

 is gruesome. They prefer to swallow their prey alive, having 



Fig. 21. The Texas Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox, reduced. From Stejneger, 



put it out of action by crushing it or poisoning it. The snake 

 then shifts its living victim about until it is in a convenient 

 position to be swallowed head first, and it now proceeds 

 gradually to drag its body over the prey. This process may 

 take hours. Its jaws are so arranged that they can gape very 



