Other snakes grab their prey in their mouth and start swallowing immediately so that the animal is eaten alive. The teeth in these snakes are arranged so as to resist escape of an animal once grabbed in the mouth. Sometimes both venom and constriction are used to kill and hold the prey. A snake is able to dislocate its upper and lower jaws and separate the two sections of its lower jaw. This allows it to move each jaw independently, and to spread open its head and throat to swallow prey much larger than the usual diameter of its mouth.
Digestion takes place in the stomach, with the aid of very strong digestive juices.
Unlike endothermic animals, a snake's food digestion rate is influenced by external temperatures. How they breed Snakes reproduce in two different ways. Some species give birth to live offspring, while others lay eggs. Pythons 'incubate' and protect their eggs by coiling their bodies around the eggs almost continuously until they hatch. They are able to control temperature to a certain degree by shivering.