How Does a Snake Bite?
Striking
Snakes bite by striking at their prey, then sinking their fangs into their prey's skin. Most biting snakes sense the heat of their prey, not the smell. In fact, snakes will not bite anything that is too cool to sense. Their teeth are designed to hold the prey still.
Some snakes have venom in small sacks behind their fangs. The fangs retract until the snake is ready to strike, so that the snake is not pierced by its own teeth. The snakes use the venom to immobilize their prey or kill it. The venom is often released at the same time or after the snake strikes, although sometimes it is released too early. In that case, the venom does not enter the victim's bloodstream. Depending on where the fangs are located, the snake will either "stab" the prey or deeply bite it. For example, vipers have fangs located at the front of the mouth. When they strike, they stab their fangs quickly and deeply into their prey. Cobras, on the other hand, have venomous fangs towards the back of their mouths. They must open wide and take a large bite out of their prey.
Venom
Venomous snakes inject venom through the use of evolved salivary glands. In fact, the venom itself is an evolved form of saliva. The venom travels from the gland through a duct, into the snake's fangs and into the prey.
Snake venom consists of a mixture of different proteins, which are divided into four categories: cytotoxins, which cause tissue damage; hemotoxins, which cause the rupture of blood vessels and internal bleeding; neurotoxins, which damage the nervous system and cardiotoxins, which directly affect the heart.
Constriction
Most species of snakes do not inject venom. Even of those snakes that bite, only a small percentage inject venom when they strike. Most non-venomous snakes that bite use the strike and bite to grab their prey. They then swallow their prey whole.
The majority of species of snakes are constrictors. This means they catch and kill their prey by constricting, or squeezing, them. The construction either causes a heart attack or suffocation.
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