We know how snakes can eat about any animal on this planet (well – not exactly, but almost), but do snakes drink water? The common belief is that snakes get most of the water they require from the rats, mice and other animals they catch and devour. David Cundall of the Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, believes that skin creases in the snakes lower jaw help them drink. He claims that their tongues are too small to lap up water, and that they are covered in a sheath that will prevent them from lapping up water even if they were larger. In addition to all that, Cundall states that in contradiction to humans—snakes cannot tip their heads back to drink water. According to Cundall, snakes have a different system to drink water, which involves the skin folds which function like tiny tubes in a sponge, drawing water into the snake’s mouth through capillary action. The snakes muscle’s action then squeezes the water down its gut.
Snakes seldom actually drink, so it is believed. Those snakes who live in harsh climates such as deserts, where water can hardly be found, will spend their lives without having one drink.
However, snakes do have the capability to absorb water as mentioned above, and even drink it, as you’ll see in this amazing video of a Cobra snake being fed by a person. It actually drinks water from a can! Researchers even discovered that Boa Constrictors had the remarkable ability to suck water through a very small hole in their mouths, similarly to drinking through a straw. However, when tested in the Lehigh University, on other species of snakes, no evidence was found of any suction of water.
Well, despite the wise assumptions of scientists with which I mostly agree, this fascinating video clip from India pretty much answers the question of “Do Snakes Drink Water”, with a big “YES” .
If you liked this, you should read our post on “What Do Cobras Eat?”.
For more fast facts about Cobras click here.
And if you haven’t read our King Cobra Page yet, click the image below…
For further discussion on snakes, scientific classifications, venom research and much more, check the resources available in “The New Encyclopedia of Snakes”, available on Amazon.com.
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[…] and quite a few other animals, snakes cannot lap water up with their long, forked tongues. Instead, they uses skin creases in their lower jaws to suck up water like tiny tubes in a sponge. This action is quite evident in the gif above, but it is equally evident in the video below. Here, […]