I do have to respectfully disagree that the delivery of venom does not involve muscles/tissues

Ok, and I'll have to respectfully tell you to stop putting words into my mouth that I did not say... Nowhere in my post did I say that venom delivery does not involve muscles/tissues.

What I did say is...

Atrophy is something that happens to muscles/tissues that don't get used and/or get a lack of nutrition. It is not something that occurs in a venom gland, venom apparatus etc.

Just b/c the glands aren't injecting venom into prey at regular intervals does *NOT* mean that they are not active. They are in the simplest sense highly modified salivary glands (and in some snakes, less so). They are not going to atrophy just b/c they aren't "used" in captivity. Just b/c a snake doesn't use it's venom delivery apparatus for killing doesn't mean it doesn't use it. I'm sure anyone here on this forum that has watched pitvipers eat will tell you that they use their fangs etc to eat with. Even my elapids do. Once again, this is a thread of over applying concepts where they do not belong.

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