In Florida, Burmese pythons swallow large animals whole, including deer and alligators. Scientists have now made a breakthrough discovery in their understanding of exactly how specialized cells in the guts of pythons are able to digest bones down to nothing.

The answer is a previously unknown intestinal cell that gathers calcium and phosphorus and helps push the excess out safely. That finding clarifies why bones never appear in python feces after a big meal.

Studying python gut cells

The work comes from Jehan-Hervé Lignot of the University of Montpellier, with collaborators in France and the United States.

The study on captive juvenile Burmese pythons compared meals with and without bones to track how the intestine responded.

The team used light and electron microscopy along the gut and measured blood levels of calcium and key hormones.

When bones or calcium were present, a specialized cell produced particles rich in calcium, phosphorus, and iron.

These particles formed inside a small pocket within the intestinal lining. In fasting snakes or those fed boneless prey, the pockets stayed mostly empty.

The authors also identified the same type of cell in other snake species that feed on vertebrates.

This finding points to a broader digestive strategy among reptiles that consume their prey whole, suggesting it may be more widespread in nature than previously recognized.

Bones disappear without a trace

The intestine completely dissolved bone so no fragments passed out in feces. The specialized cell then packaged extra minerals and moved them toward excretion.

In the experiments, snakes fed boneless prey did not produce the mineral particles. That pattern links the cell’s activity directly to dietary calcium and phosphorus.

“We wanted to identify how they were able to process and limit this huge absorption of calcium through the intestinal wall,” said Lignot summarizing the goal of the project. 

He also noted that the discovery raises questions about other animals. Marine predators that consume bony fish or aquatic mammals are likely to encounter the same challenge, according to Lignot. 

Cells in python intestines

The new cell sits among enterocytes, the cells that normally absorb nutrients. Unlike typical enterocytes, it is slender with short microvilli and holds a central mineral core inside the crypt.

When calcium supplements were added to boneless prey, large particles filled the intestinal pockets. In snakes on low calcium diets, hormone levels also shifted as the body tried to adjust.

Those signals fit the body’s checks and balances for calcium handling. They also help explain how snakes avoid calcium overload after bone heavy meals.

The study outlines a clean path for excess mineral waste that keeps blood chemistry stable. That is essential for nerve and muscle function after a large meal.

Big mouths, bigger meals

A 2024 paper measured maximal gape at 26 centimeters, about 10.2 inches, in huge pythons captured in Florida. It also documented a 35 kilogram white tailed deer that was 93 percent of the snake’s maximal gape area.

In the field, biologists filmed a 14.8 foot, 115 pound female python consuming a 77 pound deer in the Everglades. That single observation helps anchor the upper limits of what a python can swallow.

Florida’s wildlife agency notes that Burmese pythons are an invasive predator and can consume meals equal to 100 percent of their body mass. Adults in the state often reach 6 to 9 feet, and some exceed 18 feet.

These numbers frame the demand that bone heavy meals place on the gut. Without a mineral handling system, the animals would risk dangerous spikes in blood calcium.

Invasive pythons in Florida

Burmese pythons are firmly established across the Florida Everglades and in the wetlands and marshes that surround the area.

They feed on wild mammals, many kinds of birds, and different reptiles, including some species that are legally protected.

Removal programs continue to expand. In 2025, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida reported a significant milestone of more than 20 tons of captured snakes since 2013.

Biology drives policy. Knowing that these snakes can absorb skeletons and return excess calcium safely explains why large prey remains off the landscape after a predation event.

It also clarifies why control teams often find little trace of what was eaten. Bones do not linger to flag a kill site.

What scientists want to learn next

Researchers are asking how widespread the cell is across reptiles and birds that eat bone rich diets. Species such as bearded vultures would be informative tests.

They also want to trace how the particles exit the body and whether any end up in feces as stable crystals. Answers could guide new ways to detect heavy predation.

Another open question sits at the gene level. The team is exploring what turns the crypt cell on and off when calcium levels change.

Comparative work may map how the cell evolved in different lineages. That could show whether the trait arose once or many times.

How the findings were tested

The team fed whole rodents, boneless rodents, and boneless rodents injected with calcium carbonate. They mapped where particles formed along the small intestine and how fast they appeared.

Blood samples tracked calcium alongside hormones that regulate bone and mineral balance. The results fit the pattern of a system tuned to intercept and neutralize mineral surges from skeletal meals.

The work used juvenile snakes raised in controlled conditions. That choice removed confounding factors like prior diet and variable health.

Gut cells and invasive pythons

Similar cells may exist in animals that consume bony fish or whole vertebrates. Pinpointing them could change how we read fecal mineral signatures in the wild.

If birds that rely on bone heavy diets show the same mechanism, ecologists could gain a noninvasive marker of diet. It may also inform how captive animals should be fed to avoid calcium stress.

The cell could even shape how toxins bound to bone are handled after a meal. That is a practical question for wildlife managers working in polluted wetlands.

The study is published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

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