Snakes, also known as ophidians, are cold blooded legless reptiles closely related to lizards, which share the order Squamata.
All snakes are carnivorous.
Some snakes have a venomous bite which they use to kill their prey before eating it.
Other snakes kill their prey by constriction.
Still others swallow their prey whole and alive.
Most snakes are very easy to feed in captivity, apart from a minority of species.
Snakes do not chew their food and have a very flexible lower jaw, the two halves of which are not rigidly attached, and numerous other joints in their skull (see snake skull), allowing them to open their mouths wide enough to swallow their prey whole, even if it is larger in diameter than the snake itself.
It is a common misconception that snakes actually dislocate their lower jaw to consume large prey.