Hey guys, it's been a while and the thread from September about garter snake's and their venom looked fun.
Go to venomdoc.com for the latest up to date research on venom from all types of animals. Dr Fry is great and active on the forums over there too.
The terms opisthoglyphic, and aglyphic (spelling?) are all basically useless and soon to be archaic terminology. Every species has been found to be pretty unique and there is no current grouping of venom delivery systems beyond the obvious front fanged viperids. Even the fixed fanged elapids vary quite alot.
Also of interest is that gartersnake venom is actually pretty closely related to elapid venom in that it is rich in 3-fingered toxins. Allergies to cobra venom (from cleaning cages... spitting cobras esp), could theoretically cause a keeper to go into shock from a gartersnake bite as the small amounts delivered are sometimes irrelevant in anaphylaxis.
In the end though, while the biologist type friend was correct in some ways, gartersnakes, as we all know, are completely safe to keep as pets 
Ian
