Question: Disclaimer: This is not a duplicate of [this question](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/78778/how-would-a-giant-marine-snake-like-creature-survive). This question deals with a specifically non-marine snake. 

My fantasy story requires a giant snake. The easiest way to create one (as far as food goes, at least) is to have it be marine, but I don't want to tie my setting to the ocean coast. For that reason, I want a giant snake which is land-based (or at least not ocean-going). 

The most immediate problem I see with this is food: snakes seem to operate on two basic strategies: 

1. **Strangulation.** The snake lies in wait, crushing its victims or drowning them.
2. **Venom.** The snake lies in wait, relying on fast reflexes to strike its target with paralyzing/killing venom, making for an easy meal.

The problem I see my snake having is its size. It's going to be too big to hide, and I can't really see it moving fast enough to poison anything. What is its strategy when it comes to food? 

If there are other problems involved with a giant snake, please let me know and feel free to address them as well. 

**How can I get a giant non-marine snake?** 

*Notes:* 

* The snake needs to be six feet wide in diameter. This is a must. There is no requirement on length, but I would imagine this width will make the snake very long.
* The climate is tropical. Large trees are plentiful.
* While I don't want a marine snake, lakes, rivers, or other bodies of water are perfectly fine.

Answer: 
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> What is its strategy when it comes to food?
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The [spitting cobra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitting_cobra) comes to mind. Why chase down the food when you can spit a deadly venom at it that will cause it pain and possibly damage it enough to slow it down or stop it? With such a large snake- one would imagine it would be able to launch quite the loogie for quite a distance since it'll have a very good angle and range.

An alternative would be a snake with above-normal intelligence for a snake. With such a large body and skull- it should have a larger brain as well. Obviously size alone doesn't make/break intelligence but this is a creature you're inventing after all. Have the giant thing knock over a tree onto its prey, dig a pit, set up a trap or enclosed area to chase something to, track something by scent to the lair- once you introduce higher cognitive thinking to a creature you're limited only by your imagination.

I do have to agree that snakes as a massive creature are not the best survivors. Think of all that mass that's entirely open to attack- something starts biting the snake in the rear and by the time it brings its' head the hell around to deal with the threat- it's long gone.
If you're only worried about food, then make it an ambush predator that will happily snack on anything silly enough to walk in it's mouth at any time but active mostly at night. Tropical jungles can hide tanks and plane wrecks from views, they can hide a six foot snake head.

The snakes main problem would be the noise it makes moving around but it could use that as part of it's hunting strategy to trap prey by circling in on the prey so that when it hears the snake and runs, it actually runs into another part of the snake ready to grab it and squeeze it to death.