Figure 1 used with permission of (Secor et al, 2000)
| During digestion both the ventilatory and cardiovascular systems of the python increase in order to accommodate the increased metabolic rate. Both the volume and the rate of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production increase significantly after feeding compared to fasting levels as seen in Figure 1. Similarly, breathing frequency and tidal volume of the lungs increases considerably during digestion (Secor et al, 2000) |
Figure 1 used with permission of (Secor et al, 2000) |
Figure 2 used with permission of (Secor et al, 2000) |
Likewise, upon ingesting food heart rate, blood flow, cardiac output and stroke volume of the python's heart increases significantly and peaks about 40 hours after feeding (Secor et. al, 2000) |
This increase in ventilation and cardiac activity is similar to the increase observed during exercise. Interestingly, when a python exercises and is digesting food at the same time ventilation and cardiac activity are still higher than during exercise or digestion alone (Secor et. al, 2000). This means that it is not the ventilatory or cardiovascular systems that limit the attainment of higher metabolic rates during digestion because the two systems can increase when digestion and exercise are compounded.
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