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Q: Boa Constrictors, Anacondas, Pythons ( Answered,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Boa Constrictors, Anacondas, Pythons
Category: Science
Asked by: bosef1982-ga
List Price: $2.00
Posted: 28 Aug 2004 15:09 PDT
Expires: 27 Sep 2004 15:09 PDT
Question ID: 393906
How much pressure does an an anaconda, boa constrictor, or python
exert upon its prey when it constricts around it?  Or what is it an
equivelant to in terms of force and pressure per square in perhaps, or
overall?
Answer  
Subject: Re: Boa Constrictors, Anacondas, Pythons
Answered By: bobbie7-ga on 28 Aug 2004 15:56 PDT
 
According to a Science Now article, a 5.5-meter python can create a
force of about 1 kilogram per square centimeter on its victim--about
six times as rigorous as a firm handshake.


Scientists have figured out how to monitor the pressure a boa
constrictor exerts while squeezing a rabbit to death.

?Engineers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
constructed a "constrict-o-meter" at the request of local zookeepers
who wanted a visual measure of the snake's coil power for an episode
of BBC's Animal Planet. The device, a pressure-sensitive,
quarter-sized plate mounted on the end of a 30-centimeter-long probe,
is placed between the snake and its prey, says mechanical engineer
Adnan Akay, who designed the rig with two assistants. Wires carry the
information from the probe to a laptop computer, which plots the
pressure. A 5.5-meter python, for example, can create a force of about
1 kilogram per square centimeter on its victim--about six times as
rigorous as a firm handshake.?
Source:  

Science Now: Boa Constrict-o-Meter 
http://bric.postech.ac.kr/science/97now/02_4now/020405d.html


An 18-foot-long snake applies about 12 pounds per square inch (psi)
while a 5-footer generates about 6 psi.

"...  opposed to the common belief that a boa constrictor squeezes its
prey and crushes it... it really suffocates it."

 "...  They found that an 18-foot-long snake applies about 12 pounds
per square inch (psi) while a 5-footer generates about 6 psi.

Jefferson City, Missouri Post-Tribune, March 6, 2002 from Vicky Elwood
http://ebeltz.net/column/2002colu.html



From How Stuff Works:

?A few snakes squeeze the life out their prey in another way --
constriction. Once a snake has the animal firmly in the grip of its
jaws, it loops its body in coils around the prey. When the animal
exhales, letting the air out of its body cavity, the snake contracts
its powerful system of muscles to tighten the coils, squeezing the
body so that the animal cannot breathe in again. According to a
Carnegie Mellon University study in 2002, depending on its size, a
constrictor can apply 6 to 12 pounds of pressure per square inch.
Although this pressure suffocates the prey by compressing the lungs,
it can also have the same effect on the heart, speeding up death
significantly.?

How Stuff Works 
http://science.howstuffworks.com/snake4.htm



?Adnan Akay, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, recently
invented the "Constrict-o-Meter".  The device measures the amount of
pressure exerted on a prey animal during constriction.  Akay found
that an 18 foot Burmese python constricted prey with 12 pounds per
square inch of pressure.  Measure the number of square inches of
surface area of the prey and multiply by twelve to get the total
pressure exerted. Essentially it ends up being hundreds of pounds of
pressure being exerted from all sides.?

Arrowhead Reptile Rescue
http://www.arrowheadreptilerescue.org/mediagallery/videos/burmstrike/


Search terms used:
Anaconda OR python OR boa kilogram per square centimeter
Boa pounds per square inch pressure 

I hope this helps!

Best regards,
Bobbie7
Comments  
Subject: Re: Boa Constrictors, Anacondas, Pythons
From: 3ncrp7-ga on 31 Aug 2004 16:36 PDT
 
just to make it short when a python constricts a victum it dose it
with such forch that its blood rushes to its head rendering him
unconshus after a few minutes and the blood vains in the eyes burst
befor death it is commonly seen in people who have been constricted to
the point ware they passout and a python can put any ware from 6-12
psi on a victum but most snakes you will ever see with be able to put
and avrage of about 10 psi on a victum.

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