CALIFORNIA SNAKES

 When it comes to big snakes, Anacondas are the serpents to summon up! These big snakes sent chills down viewers’ spines in the famed films, “Anaconda” and “Anaconda 2,” and have since aroused much curiosity about big snakes in general. Here are some facts about big snakes that will keep you both amazed and aghast at the same time!

Anacondas actually belong to a wider family of huge snakes called Boas, and therefore Anacondas, who live in swamps and rivers, are also known as Water Boas. Just how big are huge snakes? Well, their average length is approximately 20-25 feet long, but some of these serpents stretch as long as 30 feet (9 meters) or more, and can weigh around 150-250 Kg. Where do these huge snakes reside? You can find Anacondas in the rainforests of South America, Brazil and Guiana, just to name a few places.

Now, there are those who argue that the Asiatic Reticulated Python is the largest snake since it holds the world record for snake length, but when it comes to huge snakes, body mass matters, and the girth of an Anaconda is far wider than that of a Python. It is claimed that the largest Anaconda measured was almost 28 feet long with a girth of 44 inches.

Besides their sheer size, these huge snake types have something else in common. Anaconda and Python snakes are constrictors, meaning they use suffocation as a means of killing their prey. They coil their body around that of their victim and squeeze, thereby restricting respiration. And what do huge snakes eat? Anacondas eat fish, small rodents, frogs, birds, turtles, and mammals such as sheep and deer; a fully-grown Anaconda can hunt and kill a jaguar!

Interestingly, the jaws of huge snakes are especially constructed so that they can open their mouth wide enough to swallow large animals. And here is another fascinating “bite” of information about huge snakes: These snakes don’t chew! Instead, they swallow their prey whole, which is then digested with the help of strong acids inside the snake’s stomach. Depending on what they have eaten, some huge snakes can go for months at a time without feeding.

And here is some fiction about huge snakes: In 2003, there were reports of a 49-foot Python weighing over 900 pounds living in a zoo in Indonesia. But when a newspaperman checked out the story of this sizable serpent, it actually weighed a mere 220 pounds and was less than 21 feet long! So when it comes to huge snakes, remember: tall tales are often an exaggeration…