How snakes survive without eating

Just read this fascinating article on PhysOrg about snakes. Snakes can survive up to two years in the wild without eating anything. They do this by lowering their metabolism and using stored fat. The amazing thing is that they can lower their metabolism up to 72%. And this is on an animal that already has an extremely low metabolism to start with.
The scientists conducting the study, examined three species of snakes. The python, the rat snake, and the rattlesnake. While examining them, they starved the snakes for 6 months. The amazing thing, is that even though the snakes lowered their metabolism, they continued to grow in length for the entire period.

Personally I hate snakes. I can't imagine ever having one as a pet. But articles like this one and the one about the rattlesnake bite I posted a few weeks ago, really interest me.

Check out the article: How Snakes Survive Starvation