Pythons grow bigger hearts at mealtimes

[kpugh]

I just skimmed that paper I posted, and it said that python metabolisms increase by 44% after a meal, and only 8-10% after exercise. That signficantly increased metabolic rate, with corresponding increase oxygen consumption, could quite likely explain any negative effects of power feeding...but that is just my guess...

[C.ADAMANTEUS]

It is a very interesting read. A few things that I didnt know were in the second article.....thanks kpugh
RMBolton, If all teeth are to be concidered as fangs, does that make the rear REAR FANGED snakes improperly named?
I believe its for lil reasons like this, that most do not concider them to be fangs, unless protruding beyond the rest.
Nice photo of the skull by the way.
Rick

[Scales Zoo]

Originally posted by kpugh
I just skimmed that paper I posted, and it said that python metabolisms increase by 44% after a meal, and only 8-10% after exercise. That signficantly increased metabolic rate, with corresponding increase oxygen consumption, could quite likely explain any negative effects of power feeding...but that is just my guess...

Jimmy, you like that thinking.... try this.....

They age more after they eat, the more they eat, the more they age - and that is why sparce fed colubrids live to be 20 years old - and powerfed snakes only live to be 5 or 6 in many cases?

Maybe the he meals make them age more than time does? Maybe each snake only has 200-300 feedings in them before they die?

In the wild they eat when they can, and have babies when food is plentiful - lots of offspring is the goal, not lots of years. It is different in captivity - maybe, or maybe not. Maybe.

Ryan

[marisa]

"In the wild they eat when they can, and have babies when food is plentiful - lots of offspring is the goal, not lots of years. It is different in captivity - maybe, or maybe not. Maybe. "

I tend to agree more with the "maybe so"

I myself only feed once per two weeks or so (not on a rigid schedual) and I am STILL considering cutting back even more or feeding a certain amount of prey items per year VS per month or week. I just can't see how anyone who feeds colubrids more often than twice a month has healthy weight snakes. My guys get WAY too fat on that. (talking adults here of course, animals over three + )

Marisa

[Removed_2815]

Hi Rick,
I haven't really formed an opinion. Just being the devil's advocate by throwing out that definition so that people can make up their own minds. As mentioned, I do not think NG is incorrect by using the word fangs, they could have chosen a better word though to avoid confusion. I also think that the word fangs is generally reserved for what you describe, though it might be applicable to pythons based on that single definition.
I'm not saying with certainty one way or the other.
Ryan

[C.ADAMANTEUS]

Hey Ryan
Just stirring the pot a little.
I caught the "no oppinion" part of yer post.
Yes yer right as far as the "Dictionary" goes. (I hate those things) like you said, to create less confusion, a better word could have been used by NG
Rick

[kpugh]

About the whole fang thing - you have to keep in mind what the intended audience for that story was - I figure it's for your general nature loving public, not the hard core science geeks that are going to be argueing semantics, and looking up the original scientific papers to see what the authors really said (I fully admit that I am a geek!)....sorta like the Jeep add with the boa(?) in the river - most people won't catch stuff like that, but some folks will...My point is, the point of the story was the really cool physiology, not so much whether or not pythons have fangs...