How do snakes swallow large prey?

A snake lower jaw is not fused at the front, so the two halves can move independently and spread apart, and the jaw is joined to the skull by flexible ligaments rather than a rigid hinge. This lets the mouth open extremely wide and stretch around prey far bigger than the snake head. The snake works its jaws forward alternately, effectively walking its mouth over the animal, while backward-pointing teeth stop the prey from slipping out. Powerful muscles then push the meal down into the body. A large meal can take days or even weeks to digest.