Prairie Ring-Necked Snake, 072808, Sweetwater, TX  pg 2

The prairie ring-necked snake is a small serpent whose head is scarcely wider than its neck. As noted on page 1, it rarely bites defensively. If molested by a large animal or man it often plays dead, flopping on its back, as this specimen did when attacked by dogs. Yet, this shy and ostensibly harmless snake is somewhat venomous [O'Donnell et al].  Its Duvernoy's gland secretions are known to have phospholipase A₂ activity, and accelerate the removal of one of the two fatty acid units in envenomated tissue, leading to tissue breakdown. This is similar to many viper and elapid venoms. O'Donnell notes that, though until the 1950's the colubrids (almost all the snakes considered essentially non-venomous in Texas are members of the family Colubridae) were thought to be non-venomous. Today, 36 of the 320 colubrid genera are known to contain at least one seriously-to-moderately venomous species, and some 1.5% of colubrid species, including several found in Texas, are at least nominally venomous. The ring-necked snakes are "technically" venomous, but their gentle and shy demeanor, and their aglyphous teeth, lessen the likelihood than a handler might suffer an injurious bite. Children are more susceptible, and for that reason many authorities feel it is unwise for a child to handle any snake. NEXT PAGE ---- Page Menu:   1  *  2  *  3  *  4  *

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