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This is a very generic question, but one that actually gets asked quite frequently.  Of course, the short answer is that snakes have a varied diet, depending on factors such as their species, size, age, geographic locale, etc. A fairly accurate answer for what most snakes eat might be: insects, worms, lizards, birds, small amphibians such as frogs and salamanders, and small mammals such as rats, mice and voles. But even this answer could vary depending on a location. A common garter snake that lives in a wooded area near a pond will likely eat more frogs than the garter snake found in your backyard which might live entirely on insects and the occasional mouse.

The more interesting answer is to the question: what do some of the larger more exotic snakes eat? Some snakes primarily eat other snakes (the bandy-bandy of Australia). Some snakes eat mostly the eggs of other animals (see image above). And some of the larger snakes such as pythons and other constrictors will eat small mammals when young and begin to eat larger animals such as pigs, monkeys and deer as they mature.

Posted by the science guy for the best selling science toys of 2008 at Atomic Elephant Toy.

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