Snakes

A venomous snake is a snake that uses modified saliva, venom, delivered through fangs in its mouth, to immobilize or kill its prey. Venomous snakes include several families of snakes and do not constitute a formal classification group used in taxonomy. The term poisonous snake is false - poison is inhaled or ingested whereas venom is injected. (In contrast, a few non-venomous species are constrictors such as pythons, anacondas, and boa constrictors which suffocate their prey.) Snake venom can contain many different active agents, and can potentially be a mix of neurotoxins (which attack the nervous system), hemotoxins (which attack the circulatory system), cytotoxins, bungarotoxins and many other toxins that affect the body in different ways. Snake venom is never a single type of toxin^{[citation needed]}.

Venomous snakes that use hemotoxins usually have their fangs to secrete the venom in the front of their mouths, making it easier for them to inject the venom into their victims. Snakes that use neurotoxins, such as the mildly venomous mangrove snake, have their fangs located in the back of their mouths, with the fangs curled backwards. This makes it both difficult for the snake to use its venom and for scientists to milk them.^{[citation needed]}