Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wanted to clear this up.... not all snakes have fangs do they...for example pythons dont? i know its probably a dumb question but i was arguing with my friend and he said all of them have and i remeber from somewhere that not all have them. cheers, craig

Well, all snakes have teeth. In most snakes these teeth tend to be uniform in size. The word 'fangs' is usually used for a pair of elongated teeth, like the canine teeth of dogs or cats. Used in this sense, only vipers and elapids really have fangs, although some boas have longer teeth in the front of their mouths and some colubrids have longer teeth toward the back.
So you are righter than your friend.
-----
Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

Actually, the term fang is reserved for a tooth with a groove or hollow that is used to deliver venom.

Therefore, the longer canines seen in carnivores and most primates do not qualify as fangs, nor do python teeth, regardless of their length. No mammal has fangs.

By this definition, BTW, a vampire wouldn't have "fangs" either.
-----
Chris Harrison

The dog lied to me then... I KNEW it
-----
Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

FANG

1 a : a long sharp tooth: as (1) : one by which an animal's prey is seized and held or torn (2) : one of the long hollow or grooved and often erectile teeth of a venomous snake b : one of the chelicerae of a spider at the tip of which a poison gland opens

2 : the root of a tooth or one of the processes or prongs into which a root divides

3 : a projecting tooth or prong
-----
Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
"Indigo"

1.0 Saharan Sand Boa
"Frodo"

0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa
"Arwen"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"