Rattlesnake swallowed a mouse while it was stuck in mousetrap, New Mexico photos show
There’s nothing impressive about a rattlesnake eating a mouse — unless the mouse went down while stuck in a mouse trap.
A rattlesnake in New Mexico did just that, apparently not keeping in mind a painful inevitability.
What goes in must come out.
The snake was discovered by rescuers with the corners of a Victor Easy Set Mousetrap bulging from its gut. For those unfamiliar with the wooden traps, the small version is 4 inches by 1.75 inches.
“When you think you have seen it all,” the nonprofit Cottonwood Rehab in Espanola wrote in a July 4 Facebook post.
“He caught the mouse but did not realize it was still attached to the mouse trap.”
Before-and-after photos show the rattlesnake was saved “from its stupidity” via surgery.
It was not revealed how long the prairie rattlesnake may have had the trap in its gut, but the mouse was still intact when removed. That indicates it had been recently eaten, as the snakes take an average of “3-5 days to fully digest” their prey, according to Rattlesnake HQ.
A size estimate for the snake was not given, but prairie rattlesnakes can reach “around 35-45 inches in length,” the Nature Conservancy reports. They also have jaws “connected by a piece of stretchy material,” enabling them to swallow something bigger than their head, the conservancy says.
The Cottonwood Rehab’s post has been widely shared on social media, where hundreds have reacted with humor and amazement.
“This is something that you don’t see every day,” Critters Of The World & Southern Outdoor Education wrote on Facebook.
“Did he get to keep the mouse in the end?” Mary Katherine Ray asked.
“I would be terrified it would get me in the process (of helping it),” Polly Barse Fleming said.
Espanola is about 25 miles northwest of Santa Fe.
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