The way a snake eats has been an object of fear and awe since it was observed for the first time. This is how it is done First the snake stalks his prey and prepares to strike when striking the snake pulls his head back and propels his body forward Latching on to his prey and quickly wrapping his body around to suffocate it The snake will then hold his grip until he feels his prey's heart stop beating when the snake is sure that his prey is dead He slowly unwraps his body next the snake will determine whether or not it is safe to begin eating When he senses that there are no predators near he determines the best place to start. This is usually the head of his prey The snake will then line his body up with the head of his prey and open his flexible jaws Moving them forward with the help of his curved teeth to pull the food into his mouth A snake's jaw is different than a humans in that it has flexible muscles connected to its jaw and the bones are not fused together allowing for independent movement This is what helps the snake eat prey that is larger than the size of his head This process can take a while depending on the size of his prey Once the prey is seemingly consumed the snake will use his strong muscles and sometimes pick his head up Utilizing the help of gravity to move the prey further into its stomach where digestion takes place