Poisonous and Deadly Snakes: Facts, Information, and Resources
What are the Characteristics of a Poisonous Snake
The snake is a class of reptile most commonly characterized by the absence of limbs, with a long body which tends to be thickest at the center, tapering slightly by the head and near the tail. As a reptile, a snake’s skin is made up of scales. The underside of a snake is lighter in color than the rest of the body and is shaped as textured lateral “waves,” beneath which are the muscles it uses to move itself.
The head of a snake can vary in detail from species to species, but it is largely triangular in shape, becoming smaller at the nostrils. A snake’s eyes are diametrically-oriented on opposite sides of its head with no eyelids and are characterized by elliptical pupils surrounded by a colored iris. The snake has a sharply split tongue in the shape of two prongs; its teeth are fangs located at the front and back of the mouth. In venomous snakes, these fangs are hollow and sharp, similar to a hypodermic needle, and protrude from a cavity above the roof of the mouth that produces and stores the venom used for immobilizing and killing its prey.
What Do Snakes Eat?
As carnivores, snakes prey on rodents, insects, small birds and other reptiles. As a means of capturing prey as well as a method of self defense, some snakes use the flexibility of their own bodies to surround other organisms by coiling around them. Snakes are cold-blooded, adapting their own temperature to that of the surrounding environment. For this reason, snakes largely inhabit regions with predominantly hot climates. Snakes vary in length by species, the longest approaching around 30 feet in length and the smallest being just less than 5 inches long. Most snake species are on the shorter end of this spectrum, measuring only a few feet.
What is Venom and Why Is It So Deadly?
Snake venom is a form of saliva used to capture, kill and digest prey. Snake venom is comprised of 20 different enzymes that determine the toxicity of a snake, with each species carrying six to 12 of these enzymes. The venom of what are commonly called “poisonous” snakes is a naturally occurring serum which carries a neurotoxin meant to disable prey by attacking the central nervous system. There are two types of venom that are described below. These two types are hemotoxic, which affect the blood clotting, and neurotoxic which attacks the nervous system. The toxicity of such venom can vary from snake to snake, and the susceptibility of other organisms to the effects of a given venom depends on numerous factors. For instance, there are some venom that, while deadly to small animals, may result in a mere skin rash in humans, provided timely treatment is available. Other venom is known to have deadly consequences in humans if not treated immediately following a bite. In addition to the paralyzing nature of the constituent neurotoxin, a snake’s venom is disorienting, affecting vision and sense of direction.
What is Hemotoxic Venom?
Hemotoxic venom affects the blood by preventing clotting factors so that hemorrhaging occurs. Protein in the toxin destroys muscle tissue, causing severe pain. Ultimately, the venom damages the kidney and lungs, resulting in death.
What is Neurotoxic Venom?
Neurotoxic venom attack the central nervous system. They interfere with the brain’s control of the body by preventing communication between neurons, causing the respiratory system, heart and other major organs to stop functioning.
Though several thousand people are bitten by poisonous snakes in the United States each year, only a handful suffer the potentially deadly consequences. Moreover, in terms of general safety, most snakes will not attack unless deliberately and/or blatantly disturbed. For this reason, it is advisable to remain at a distance from these animals.
Which is More Deadly a Rattlesnake or a Cobra?
Of the poisonous, or venomous, snakes, two of the most widely recognized are the rattlesnake, indigenous to warmer parts of North America, and the cobra, found in Africa and much of Asia. The rattlesnake is characterized by the presence of a “rattle,” a series of thick dried scales at the end of its tail allowing the snake to produce a rattling sound. By contrast, a cobra is recognized by the presence of a “hood,” scaly sail-like protrusions of skin which vertically surround its neck for a few inches beneath the head. There has been a ongoing controversy concerning which of these two animals bears the venom more toxic to humans, although both can kill relatively quickly. While rattlesnakes can cause internal bleeding through the use of hemotoxin, cobras can cause paralysis with neurotoxin. As to which kills faster depends mainly on the body chemistry of the individual, the seriousness of the bite and the availability of medical attention and first aid.
What Happens When Snakes Permanently Lose Their Venom?
Venomous snakes are beautiful and enthralling to look at, but their beguiling appearance can be deceiving. Although usually not aggressive, venomous snakes have the potential to be deadly, and they will bite or spew their venom when threatened, provoked or stepped on accidentally. Venomous snakes bite their prey and inject their poison via a set of fangs (two sharp teeth). Fangs are connected to venom glands inside a snake’s head where venom is produced and stored. In fact, from birth, venomous snakes are fully equipped with fangs and deadly venom.
The Fangs of a Snake
Different snakes have different types of fangs. After the fangs puncture a victim’s skin, some snakes chew their prey, while venom drips from grooves in their fangs into the victim’s wound. Other snakes squirt venom into the flesh from hollow fangs that actually swing forward and out of the snake’s mouth toward their prey and are then quickly withdrawn to avoid a counterattack.
If venomous snakes lose or injure their fangs during a confrontation, they have five to seven new sets of fully functioning fangs stored in their gums ready for action! Although venom is primarily used to catch prey, venom can mean the difference between life and death for a snake. Since snakes can’t run from predators, they need to gain leverage another way. While venom is a snake’s best defense, if the venom sac is completely emptied, they are left defenseless until their glands produce a fresh venom supply.
This is why snakes have an arsenal of defense mechanisms they use in order to save their venom. Snakes have warning colors, rattles and nasty secretions that ward others off. Venomous snakes can also choose to employ a “dry bite” where no venom is injected. Finally, some snakes bluff and feign death rather than lose their venom supply.
How Snake Bites are Treated
When human beings suffer a snake bite, they are typically treated with antivenin medication, a man-made biological product produced from the venom of live snakes. In a process called snake milking, snakes’ glands are induced to contract and produce venom, which is collected into a container and then processed to be used in the production of antivenin.
What is Snake Milking?
Snake milking poses dangers to both snakes and their milkers. Almost all snake milkers are bitten at some point on the job. As for the snakes, sometimes venom is extracted repeatedly, emptying snakes of all their venom and resulting in a snake’s death. Fortunately, professional snake hunters are increasingly being employed to milk venomous snakes. Using expert skills, they milk snakes only once a week for a period of three weeks, after which snakes are returned to their natural habitats in the wild. This is good news for snake lovers as many venomous snakes are now considered endangered species. Why save a deadly snake? The fact is that venomous snakes offer important benefits to the ecology and to mankind as well. Venomous snakes eat mice, shrew and small snakes and are themselves prey for predators such as eagles and hawks.
Furthermore, rattlesnake venom has been studied for use in medical treatments for arthritis, multiple sclerosis and polio, and its anti-coagulant properties may be helpful in the prevention of strokes and heart attacks.
Top 3 Deadliest Snakes
There is much debate about what snakes are the deadliest in the world. However, below you will find the top three deadliest snakes all measured by toxicity of venom. These snakes really pack a punch when it comes to venom and they are the most fatal of all their kind. Granted there are many factors that come into play when determining the seriousness of a snake’s bite such as a person’s weight, height, and age. In addition, whether or not it was a two fanged or one fang bite, the location of the bite, it if was close to an artery and the amount of venom that entered the body. With those factors taken into consideration, here are the world’s top three deadliest snakes.
The third single most deadly venomous snake in the world is the Blue Krait and they are sometimes referred to as the Malayan. This snake is native to Southeast Asia and Indonesia and can grow up to 160 cm. The Blue Krait’s venom is so deadly that an estimated 50% of its bites are fatal and that is even with the use of an antivenin. Usually these snakes only bite when injured or while trying to defend themselves. The poison from a Blue Krait bite is a neurotoxin and affects the nervous system of the victim. The Blue Krait is a nocturnal snake meaning that it sleeps during the day and is active and aggressive at night even though these snakes are shy and like to hide their heads within their coils.
The Blue Krait is cannibalistic and feeds mostly on other snakes but will eat amphibians, lizards, and small mammals if it has to. There is little information about the mating habits and rituals of this snake. It has been said that during mating season the males will fight. If this is for territory or a specific female is unknown. The Blue Krait lays its eggs in the early spring months in Thailand and four to ten eggs are laid at a time.
The Blue Krait usually lives in flat country in close proximity to water primarily near rice fields and rice dams where they like to use the holes of water rats to hide in. However, that does not mean it is out of the question to find one of these snakes tucked away in a village or a city dwelling.
The Blue Krait is noticeable mainly for its blue and white stripes that run down its body. The head is narrow and pointed at the front. It has small tiny bead like black eyes.
The second single most deadly venomous land snake in the world is the Australian Brown Snake and are sometimes referred to as the Common Eastern Brown Snake. This snake is also native to Australia but in addition to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. The Australian Brown Snake has some of the most deadly venom in the world with only 1/14,000 of an ounce being enough to kill a human; even babies can kill humans. Their venom contains both neurotoxins and coagulants that thicken the blood and prevent it from freely flowing through the veins.
This is a diurnal snake meaning that it sleeps at night and is active during the day. The Australian Brown Snake is an opportunistic feeder allowing it to have a vast range in diet to include rodents, birds, frogs, and lizards. This snake will eat almost and vertebrate animal that is can get down including other snakes. They mate in the spring and produce eggs that hatch outside of the body. Males will fight each other for a territory and the most dominate male will mate with the females. She will lay between 10 to 40 eggs in the spring or early summer and then abandon the eggs. The babies are completely independent upon hatching.
These snakes are extremely aggressive standing their ground without backing down should they be provoked however, they only react to movement and are reluctant to bite. When agitated these snakes hold their necks high and appear in an upright S shape.
The Australian Brown Snake has a narrow black head and a black neck or many narrow crossbars that are dark in color. The colors of this snake are light brown to black and it is possible for it to have a series of light bands that circle around the body.
Finally, the single most deadly snake in the world is the Inland Taipan also known as the Fierce Snake or the Small Scaled Snake. This snake is a native to arid regions of central Australia and has the most toxic venom of any snake in the world. The Inland Taipan has enough venom to kill one hundred adult humans. Its bite can kill a single human in less than forty-five minutes. This snake can inject 44mg of venom with each bite and it can inject as much as 110mg at a time.
It lives in small holes and consumes mostly birds and small rodents and mammals. When the Inland Taipan feeds, it kills its prey with one bite then descends to the confines of it home while waiting for the prey to die. It then returns begins its meal. The Inland Taipan has between one and two dozen eggs at a time and they hatch within two months after. This snake prefers burrows and crevices to lay its eggs. The Inland Taipan will not produce as many eggs if food is not readily available to it during the mating season.
The Inland Taipan will adapt to its environment by changing the color of its skin so that it matches the colors of the season. In the summer time, they become lighter and in the wintertime, they become darker in color. This way the snake can keep it body temperature stable during the winter months by absorbing more light.
The Inland Taipan is brown or olive in color with black markings on the head or has a uniformly black head.
Resources about Snakes
UCSD Computer Scientist Wins Young Investigator Award, Research on Snake Venom Proteins Highlighted
Treating snake bites
Snake venom poisoning in the US: Robert Norris, FACEP, Stanford University
Study of Rattle Snake Venom May Lead to Anti-Cancer Drug by Kathleen Davis Phillips
Venomous Snake Goodness: An Analysis of Snake Venom Toxicity by Paul Levy including diagrams of a snakes mouth.
I am a teacher in Michigan. I grew up in Florida and have lived here in MI for close to 15 years. I enjoy writing and skiing in my spare time.
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