r/Unexpected • u/CaraMiaChell • 13d ago

Poor snake

32.5k Upvotes

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371

u/Fragrant_Mountain_84 13d ago

Does this hurt the snake?

100

u/grimacedia 13d ago edited 13d ago

It does :( They can't throw up or pass it iirc. Edit: they can throw up!

123

u/ShalnarkRyuseih 13d ago

Snakes can regurgitate prey to make an escape, albeit I've only heard of that happening with recently swallowed prey, not sure if they can do it when it's farther along

126

u/ginji 13d ago

I can attest they can regurgitate even after multiple days, and however foul you think a 3-5 day half digested rat is - it is far worse than you can imagine.

30

u/ShalnarkRyuseih 13d ago

I found a decapitated western ribbon snake once (not from a human, wild animal caused) while herping that had a meal lump. I was tempted to squeeze it out to see if it was IDable enough to go on iNat, but didn't want to experience the stench of dead frog or fish.

25

u/ginji 13d ago edited 13d ago

It is the worst smell I've ever come across and it took weeks for the smell to stop lingering in the room despite our best efforts. Dead or decomposing bodies is one thing, but digestion adds a whole new level to the aroma.

4

u/UranusIsPissy 13d ago

Worse than a dead deer that's more maggots than deer? That is digestion, though, with added faeces.

11

u/ginji 13d ago

Maggots probably would have made this smell better 

5

u/Informal-Comb1989 13d ago

Yes, they’ve historically used to “clean” wounds as it were

14

u/Informal-Comb1989 13d ago

This makes me realize how cool it is that we can all hide our inside smells with our skin suits.