I’m not knowledgeable about this, but here’s my uneducated guess:
They might just think it’s the prey biting back. Snakes generally have poor eyesight (of course, there are differences between species). And they’re so focused on the jump to catch their prey and subdue them as quickly as possible that they just bite down and kinda hope for the best for a bit before they realize.
Can someone knowledgeable please explain to me why snakes don’t realize they’re biting themselves when this happens?
Also, related question: why do dogs sometimes bite their own tails and hind feet as though they’re foreign entities?
I’m not knowledgeable about this, but here’s my uneducated guess:
They might just think it’s the prey biting back. Snakes generally have poor eyesight (of course, there are differences between species). And they’re so focused on the jump to catch their prey and subdue them as quickly as possible that they just bite down and kinda hope for the best for a bit before they realize.