Why are a venomous snake’s fangs important to it?

Although most snakes have teeth, not all snakes have fangs. Only the poisonous ones do. What are fangs?

Fangs are sharp, long, hollow teeth that are hooked up to small sacs in the snake’s head behind their eyes. These sacs produce poisonous liquid called venom. When a snake bites, venom is released and starts to work immediately to kill or paralyze the prey. For some snakes with really long fangs, the fangs will fold back into the mouth so that the snake doesn’t bite itself? When a snake loses or breaks a fang it will grow another.

In many countries, venomous snakes are caught and their venom is ‘milked’ from their fangs by squeezing the venom sac and forcing the release of the poison. This venom is then used to create a medicine called antivenin that is used to save the lives of people bitten by snakes. Snakes will keep producing more venom for as long as they live.