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I have a friend that has studied biology and he told me matter of factly that Garter snakes are rear-fanged and venomous. Is this true??? I have never ever read or heard this before!
Thanks.

>>I have a friend that has studied biology and he told me matter of factly that Garter snakes are rear-fanged and venomous. Is this true??? I have never ever read or heard this before!
>>Thanks.

rear fanged, mildly venomous... venom is similar to water snakes.. mostly anticoagulent properties.. you just bleed a while...some itching and burning for a few minutes or so. Not a dangerous venom...and a garter would have to get a good chewing on your finger to engage the rear teeth or be a very large individual who can open its mouth pretty wide.
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PHWyvern

>>rear fanged, mildly venomous...

Are you absolutely sure that garters (Thamnophis) are rear fanged? I know there are Asian garters that are rear fanged, but North American??

>>>>rear fanged, mildly venomous...
>>
>>Are you absolutely sure that garters (Thamnophis) are rear fanged? I know there are Asian garters that are rear fanged, but North American??

Rear-fanged is probably a misnomer. They just have enlarged rear teath and they aren't that enlarged. They don't have a venom delivery system with grooves in their teeth which connect to their glands or anything.

I've had reactions from water snake bites but never garters, but then I've rarely had a garter bite either. I'm not going to rule out that it wasn't from bacteria in their mouth from rotting fish/amphibian prey either.
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ThamnophisWest.com
Specializing in Captive bred Garter Snakes
from west of the continental divide.

>>Rear-fanged is probably a misnomer. They just have enlarged rear teath and they aren't that enlarged. They don't have a venom delivery system with grooves in their teeth which connect to their glands or anything.

OK. So when it comes to garters, instead of opisthoglyph (back-grooved), it's aglyph (without grooves)? Just looked up the terms on wikipedia and now I just have to use them.

Anyway, do you happen to have a picture of those teeth? Google didn't.

haven't seen anything about them being rear fanged. I have read in "Garter Snakes: Evolution and Ecology" that garters have the duvornoy's gland....the gland found in rear fanged snakes. Garters saliva mainly acts as a tranquilizer calming rodents when they eat them... A lot of the reactions people have also depends on their bodies, some people have the itching reaction and others don't. I have been bitten many times over the years by all kinds of garters and had no reactions. I have heard of others itching and swelling.

Some people have significant reactions to some garter bites. I had a florida chew on me and ended up with very swollen hand. A friend could barely bend her fingers after getting chewed on by a red-sided garter. The herp curator of the LA Zoo told me many years ago he had the same reaction to a Florida garter bite.

I've been bitten by many but only a couple resulted in this sort of swelling, seemed to require at least some chewing. Still, its a little startling when you become aware of a significant reaction happening.

Joe