Fig. 1. The time course in oxygen consumption (ml O₂ h^-1 g^-1) between coastal (open circles) and inland (closed circles) T. elegans on a lyophilized fish diet (A) and slug diet (B). The standard metabolic rates of coastal specialist snakes and inland generalist snakes were 0.058 ml O₂ h^-1 g^-1 and 0.70 ml O₂ h^-1 g^-1 at 30±1°C, respectively (P=0.07). Each data point represents the mean metabolic value of a group of snakes. The total energy devoted to SDA was calculated for each snake by subtracting SMR from total metabolic rates during digestion. Postprandial metabolic rates reached maximal levels of 3.0- to 4.0-fold resting rates and lasted nearly 80-110 h.