Do dragons eat the bones too?

[John Carroll]

If a dragon eats a person, do they swallow them whole, including the bones?

I'm writing a scene where the dragon is chewing on someone, but it's in the middle of a battle. I can't imagine he will eat the bones too. Ideally, he would sit down and gnaw off all the meat at his leisure *thinking out loud* but in a battle, maybe a few crunches, then spit the person out and go onto the next?

Any ideas? Do any carnivores eat the bones, especially reptilian? Do they digest them?

[ReliQ05]

I know that Owls will eat a smaller creature whole, then later on will regurgitate the bones.

If you want to treat their digestion/eating habits like snakes. Wikipedia has this to say. "Because snakes cannot bite or tear their food to pieces, they must swallow prey whole... After eating, snakes become dormant while the process of digestion takes place. Digestion is an intense activity, especially after consumption of large prey....Because of this, a snake disturbed after having eaten recently will often regurgitate its prey to be able to escape the perceived threat. When undisturbed, the digestive process is highly efficient, with the snake's digestive enzymes dissolving and absorbing everything but the prey's hair (or feathers) and claws, which are excreted along with waste."


So IMO if you use snakes as a background, then the dragon would attack/maim the threat then continue on. Barbecue is also another option, if your dragons breathe fire.

[John Carroll]

Originally Posted by ReliQ05

I know that Owls will eat a smaller creature whole, then later on will regurgitate the bones.

If you want to treat their digestion/eating habits like snakes. Wikipedia has this to say. "Because snakes cannot bite or tear their food to pieces, they must swallow prey whole... After eating, snakes become dormant while the process of digestion takes place. Digestion is an intense activity, especially after consumption of large prey....Because of this, a snake disturbed after having eaten recently will often regurgitate its prey to be able to escape the perceived threat. When undisturbed, the digestive process is highly efficient, with the snake's digestive enzymes dissolving and absorbing everything but the prey's hair (or feathers) and claws, which are excreted along with waste."


So IMO if you use snakes as a background, then the dragon would attack/maim the threat then continue on. Barbecue is also another option, if your dragons breathe fire.

Purple lightning actually. The digestion period wouldn't fit with the character at all, so I think I'm going to have him chew on it more like a cat.

Plus dragons are supposed to gnaw on bones IIRC. Gnawing just seems like a dragonly thing to do. That's how they roll. *nods*

Thank you for the information. I desperately needed someone elses voice on this one . . . even if it is a voice written in a forum. *grin*

[ReliQ05]

Haha, no problem. Hope it works out for you!


I agree that gnawing definitely seems like a Dragon-y thing to do

[DixieGal]

I prefer the gory drama of the dragon biting off the top half, leaving the bottom half spewing blood and remaining standing for a moment. It's a movie cliche that never fails to get a cheer from me.

I'm just sayin' .......

[Kemp]

I'd actually suggest the dragon has physiology more like that of a dinosaur. Hollow bones that allow for flight. Since (supposedly) dinosaurs shared lots of traits in common with birds, I'd say they'd be more like the owl example, regurgitating undigested bits.

Or even more possible would be a very wicked digestion. Some of the enzymes in the stomach/other tracts that allow the expulsion of purple lightning should be able to dissolve bone without too much trouble.

Though I do like the image of dragons being more like cats, especially if they're intelligent and prone to playing with their prey

[John Carroll]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I prefer the gory drama of the dragon biting off the top half, leaving the bottom half spewing blood and remaining standing for a moment. It's a movie cliche that never fails to get a cheer from me.

I'm just sayin' .......

Well of course I added that! Silly.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by John Carroll

If a dragon eats a person, do they swallow them whole, including the bones?

I'm writing a scene where the dragon is chewing on someone, but it's in the middle of a battle. I can't imagine he will eat the bones too. Ideally, he would sit down and gnaw off all the meat at his leisure *thinking out loud* but in a battle, maybe a few crunches, then spit the person out and go onto the next?

Any ideas? Do any carnivores eat the bones, especially reptilian? Do they digest them?

I can't answer your question with facts, as I've never met a dragon...........however, in the stories I've read with dragons in them, usually the dragons lair is found due to a mess of bones lying about....

[John Carroll]

Originally Posted by Kemp

I'd actually suggest the dragon has physiology more like that of a dinosaur. Hollow bones that allow for flight. Since (supposedly) dinosaurs shared lots of traits in common with birds, I'd say they'd be more like the owl example, regurgitating undigested bits.

Or even more possible would be a very wicked digestion. Some of the enzymes in the stomach/other tracts that allow the expulsion of purple lightning should be able to dissolve bone without too much trouble.

Though I do like the image of dragons being more like cats, especially if they're intelligent and prone to playing with their prey

I thought about going the komodo way with lots of acids in saliva and otherwise, but it breaks other parts of the story.

I'm not sure about the dragon's physiology. I'm at a point where I don't need to justify or explain it yet, so I'm not going to get scientific. I'm still developing the character as I go and that will influence the scientific details in the future.
Dragons in this world are insanely intelligent, so I don't want them to be much like dinosaurs.

[John Carroll]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

I can't answer your question with facts, as I've never met a dragon...........however, in the stories I've read with dragons in them, usually the dragons lair is found due to a mess of bones lying about....

Good call! Definitely a good idea, but I get the feeling this dragon is a neat freak. I'll have to think about that. Maybe he'll place the bones at the cave entrance, but organize them neatly.

[Kemp]

Originally Posted by John Carroll

I thought about going the komodo way with lots of acids in saliva and otherwise, but it breaks other parts of the story.

I'm not sure about the dragon's physiology. I'm at a point where I don't need to justify or explain it yet, so I'm not going to get scientific. I'm still developing the character as I go and that will influence the scientific details in the future.
Dragons in this world are insanely intelligent, so I don't want them to be much like dinosaurs.

It's not so much the dinosaur mentality as the physiology; the hollow bone structure like that of birds really assists the notion of flight, but that doesn't really comment upon their levels of intellect.

I'm probably still reading too much into science and physiology, but the whole sedentary nature of reptiles, absorbing warmth in the sun for a few hours before a burst of activity and the like, seems a bit counter-intuitive to how awesome dragons are.

With an embarrassingly prolific background in Dungeons & Dragons (oh, lord, I still play...), I always liked dragons as being very intelligent.

[Danger]

Nowhere have I ever read of a dragon gnawing on bones, usually the person is eaten whole. I just assume the dragon craps out the bones like a snake does. Which would be why there are piles of bones. It's not where the dragon piled them so much as where it likes to crap them out.

But then again it is your story. I'm just making an observation based on books I'm read and movies I've watched.

[DArenson]

Hmm... I'd guess they don't eat the bones. Maybe small bones, like your finger bones, but not the big ones, like the femurs. I mean, think about it. When you're eating a chicken, do you eat the bones? Nope. I reckon a dragon would just eat the flesh, and spit out the bones around his or her lair.

[Kemp]

Originally Posted by Danger

Nowhere have I ever read of a dragon gnawing on bones, usually the person is eaten whole. I just assume the dragon craps out the bones like a snake does. Which would be why there are piles of bones. It's not where the dragon piled them so much as where it likes to crap them out.

But then again it is your story. I'm just making an observation based on books I'm read and movies I've watched.

Though that brings an interesting point as well. A dragon, an intelligent creature, with a lair filled with the bones of its previous meals. Does that theoretically mean that the dragon craps all over the place he sleeps in? Most animals with rudimentary intelligence know enough to go elsewhere or at least in the corner...

Which maybe gives +1 to the gnawing theory.

[HistoryWes]

In my series Senta and the Steel Dragon, not only do dragons eat the bones but their magically enhanced digestive tacks use every bit of what they eat, so that unlike every normal animal, they do not leave waste at all.

There is plenty of real life precedent for animals eating bones and all. The prehistoric hyaenadon even ate the teeth of it's prey. On the other hand, in an actual battle an intelligent creature probably wouldn't stop to eat. Just bite and move on.