Prey Handling Behavior of Neonatal Rat Snakes, Elaphe taeniura and E. dione (Colubridae)

Abstract

The effects of mouse size on prey handling behavior of newly hatched Elaphe taeniura and E. dione were studied in the laboratory. Elaphe taeniura tended to constrict and kill large mice, but to simply seize small mice and swallow them alive. There were no relationships between capture position and mouse size, or between direction of ingestion and mouse size in E. taeniura. Elaphe taeniura did not show a preference for head-first ingestion. Most E. dione simply seized mice, and all swallowed them alive irrespective of prey size. Elaphe dione swallowed mice head first significantly more frequently than tail first. There was no relation between capture position and mouse size in E. dione.