Snakes can live without food for two years:study

The study, which will be published in next month8217;s issue of Zoology, is the first ever to examine starvation physiology in snakes.

The founder Marshall McCue, a researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas, thinks intense snake hunger may even explain some of the more outrageous snake stories from recent years. 8220;These animals take energy reduction to a whole new level,8221; he said.

While scientists knew that some snake species could survive for up to two years without a meal, no studies have examined the physiological changes that take place when a snake goes for prolonged periods without food. McCue examined three snake species 8212; the ball python, the ratsnake and the western diamondback rattle snake 8212; to study their responses to prolonged periods without food.

The 62 snakes studied went about six months without eating 8212; a time period that could well be duplicated in the wild, where food supplies can be scarce. McCue then looked at physiological, compositional and morphological changes in the snakes.

The results showed that the snakes could lower their standard metabolic rates, some by up to 72 per cent. 8220;Snakes already had low energy demands. We didn8217;t know they could go lower,8221; McCue said.