With the venom of the viper, will the venom of the viper poison poison the viper to death?

If you've watched shows about nature or have gone on a wilderness trek, then you're probably familiar with the topic.

There are almost 3,000 species of snakes, of which more than 10% are venomous. Of the venomous snakes, only about 10%-15% are dangerous to humans. Even so, the fear of being bitten by a venomous snake is rampant because we may hear or see the horrible side of venomous snakes, some of which can quickly become fatal.

That being the case, snake venom is so powerful and deadly, why is the snake itself okay? After all, a bunch of venom is running inside the snake, right?

The Science Behind Snake Venom.

Let's start by understanding snake venom and how snakes evolved over millions of years. The main component of snake venom is protein, the vast majority of which can be broken down in the stomach, just like protein in meat and legumes. In other words, ingestion of a poison consisting of proteins is not fatal, because it is broken down into harmless amino acids by the stomach.

However, if in a certain way, such as without passing through the stomach or biting, then these toxins will not be broken down, and the venom will damage the organ systems in the body, causing organ necrosis or bleeding.

The same is true for snakes when they eat. In addition to acting as a defense, these protein toxins can also weaken and digest prey. As a result, when snakes ingest food, they are also exposed to their own venom.

However, in the process of digesting its prey, snakes neutralize their venom through the process of protein breakdown.

Snake venom is a special form of saliva that contains a range of animal toxins that are stored in organs similar to our salivary glands. Snake venom is produced in these glands and stored there instead of flowing through the body. The venom is isolated from the other organs of the snake, so the snake itself is not poisoned.

When a venomous snake wants to attack a person or animal, the venom squeezes onto the tip of the tooth and then flows into the body of the prey.

Although venomous snakes have adapted to the venom glands so that they are not exposed to their own venom. But no matter what, the snake will be more or less exposed to a little bit of its own venom. This has led most researchers to believe that as snakes evolved, they evolved antibodies that prevented themselves from being poisoned.

Studies have shown that snakes of the same species do not usually use venom to attack when fighting for territory or mate. This may be because snakes know that their venom does not necessarily have an advantage, so they rely on violence to win.

However, snakes do not have antibodies against all snake venom, and there are hundreds of venomous snake species in the world. If two venomous snakes bite each other farther apart, the more likely they are to be poisoned. Since they have not been exposed to each other's venom before, snakes cannot develop corresponding immunity in their bodies, so they may poison each other.

If a venomous snake will feed on a non-venomous snake, the venomous snake will attack directly with its venom.

In addition, some venomous snakes are also affected by their own high concentrations of venom, as they can only withstand small amounts of venom. So, if a venomous snake accidentally bites its own tail, the venom can quickly seep into the body, which can damage the muscles or cause slight necrosis. However, there is little research on snake poisoning, and scientists have not yet been able to draw a correct conclusion.

No. The poison itself is produced by poisonous snakes, and they store the poison in their bodies, so they have immunity.

Poisonous snakes will be poisoned by themselves, but the premise is to release the venom into the blood or subcutaneous tissue, under normal circumstances, snakes will not be so stupid, and the venom of poisonous snakes can also be controlled and released, but the venom of snakes can produce effects in the snake's body. There is also poisonous immunity between snakes, for example, the five-step snake is completely immune to the venom of the cobra.

Will the viper be poisoned by itselfnbsp;The venom of a poisonous snake is a kind of self-protection **, but in the body of a poisonous snake, it is actually an enzyme that helps digestion, and there is a salivary enzyme like our human body. However, the characteristic of this enzyme is that it reacts to our body, which is called poisoning.

How do we know that poisonous snakes can poison themselves?

nbsp;Through experiments and natural observations, it has been found that most snakes are not immune to snake venom, even if it is a highly venomous cobra, once bitten by a five-step snake, it will be dying, and most snakes in nature will also attack their own kind to obtain food, but also through the bite into the form of toxin, the other party is put to death.

How Venom works

The venom of the snake mainly attacks the nervous system such as the central nervous system, causing heart failure, or breathing, etc., most of the general snake venom is to destroy the lytic blood cells and affect nerve conduction, and it has no effect on the epidermis, even if we take the snake venom orally, as long as there is no ulcer wound in the stomach or oral esophagus, the snake venom is tightly attached to the ordinary protein, and it is quickly decomposed.