According to the pressure reading, the snake generated almost 300 millimeters of mercury or just under 6 pounds of pressure per square inch (psi) during constriction. “There's a myth that they squeeze their prey until they can't breathe anymore, but that's not accurate,” said Dr. Boback.
The average snake products about eight pounds of force per square inch while constricting, although large anacondas have be recorded exerting pressures of around 300 pounds per square inch. Multiplied along the entire length of the snake, it is the equivalent of having an eighteen-wheeler parked on your chest.
King snakes are native to North America and have evolved into the strongest constrictors in the world, with the ability to exert 180 mm Hg of pressure. That's about 60 mm Hg higher than the healthy blood pressure of a human being.
Both the reticulated python and the green anaconda are constrictors. They use similar means to attack and kill prey by squeezing them to death. The python's squeezing force is about 14 PSI, and that is enough to kill human beings. They bite with rear-facing teeth to help them get prey into their bodies.
A constricting snake like a boa or a python kills its prey by suffocation. It uses the momentum of its strike to throw coils around its victim's body. Then, it squeezes.
The strongman of the snake world, a boa constrictor is capable of exerting 6 to 12 lbs per square inch of pressure, and literally squeezes the life out of its prey, as Steve found when he tested this… on himself! Not a situation many of us would like to find ourselves in. Here's how to behave around the big guns.
The boa constrictor's choke hold is an iconic animal attack. By coiling around its prey, a snake can squeeze the life out of a victim in mere minutes before gulping it down whole (SN: 8/9/15).
Prior studies determined that the anaconda's possible crush force is 90 pounds per square inch. That's comparable to an elephant sitting on your chest. We used tug-boat ropes to test the suit beforehand between trucks. It withstood squeezing at 90 psi.
They can reach lengths of more than 10m (32ft) and are very powerful. They attack in an ambush, wrapping themselves around their prey and crushing it - squeezing tighter as the victim exhales. They kill by suffocation or cardiac arrest within minutes.
This can be unnerving, but there are some really easy ways to stop a snake constricting. Avoid panicking and take your snake's tail in your hand. Unwind it from its tail to its head. Alternatively, push your free hand under its tail to loosen it.
King snakes wrap around their food and squeeze with about twice as much pressure as rat snakes do, says David Penning, a functional morphologist at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.
Boa Constrictor Bites
These snakes are not venomous, but their bites are still incredibly painful, so you should seek medical care if you're attacked by one. Instead of elongated fangs, a boa constrictor has rows of curved teeth that are all the same size.
Snakes won't be receptive to your affection—they're wary animals who don't like being held, touched, petted, or passed around.
Snakes do not typically like being pet, but some that become accustomed to being handled don't mind the human interaction. Snakes can definitely feel when you pet them but the sensation is not as desirable as it is for many domesticated animals.
Rule Number 1: Don't Try To Outrun A Snake
Not because your kid can't — they probably could! The very fastest snake, the Black Mamba, can slither at about 12 MPH, and a truly scared human (even one with short legs) could probably exceed that.
The king cobra is the winner.
This snake's neurotoxin is fast acting and incredibly potent. The cobra is also much faster than the python, with a top speed of 12 mph.
To understand this perceived behavior of a snake chasing someone, one must first realize that a snake has nothing to gain by chasing a person. A snake obviously could not eat a person and so is not looking for food. They are not vengeful and do not chase people out of sheer hate.
Through its thick coils, a boa can sense the tiny heartbeats of its prey. When the heart stops, the snake starts to relax. It would be virtually impossible to measure the heartbeat of a live rat while it was being crushed by a snake, so Boback opted for a macabre alternative.
Boa Constrictors may bite to defend themselves. Small individuals are not generally dangerous to people or pets. However, larger boa constrictors have large, sharp teeth, and their bites can cause severe lacerations. Large animals are also fully capable of eating dogs and cats.
While you have between 700 and 800 muscles in your whole body, even the smallest snake has between 10,000 and 15,000 muscles in its body. Their ability to strike at high speeds likely comes from their muscles being connected, building up huge quantities of energy and snapping out at high speed like a rubber band.
Analysis of the jaw bones show that Titanoboa could crush its prey with a jaw force of 400 pounds per square inch. (Modern estimates of the bite of an anaconda top this, however, at 900 psi.)
It's most likely that your pet snake is wrapping around you to prevent themselves from falling while exploring. A hungry snake may also wrap around you as part of an instinctive feeding response called 'constricting'.
Snakes are unable to form a bond with their owner, but this doesn't mean they are poor pets. We don't need to attach too much value to a deep bond. We can get a lot of pleasure from keeping a snake. Snakes enjoy being looked after by humans as long as they are being fed regularly and have a suitable enclosure.