Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was wondering what kind of venoms there are. i know there are nurotoxcins. but i do not know the other kinds or what there affects are. i do not own any hots at this time being it is illegal in my state but i have cought a couple of copperheads and rattlesnakes.

CrazyCody

Snake venom is generically classed into two types of toxins:

Neurotoxins (affect the nervous system)
Hemotoxins (affect the blood)

Most snakes have a combination of these proteins
However, there are many other types of toxins present in snake venoms in varying amounts (sometimes zero, depending on the species)

Cytotoxins (break down cells)
Myotoxins (destroy muscle tissue)
Nephrotoxins (attack the kidneys)
Cardiotoxins (attack the heart)
Procoagulants (cause the blood to clot)
Anticoagulants (prevent the blood from clotting)

There are more, but this is a generalized breakdown of the components in many snake venoms. Hope it helps.

Psilocybe gave a great breakdown of some of the generic types of venoms out there. Incase you were wanting something a little more specific (or at least more technical) the following information was taken from the third edition of Herpetology by Pough, et al, published in 2004 by Pearson Education, Inc, a division of Prentice Hall.

Proteolytic enzymes - all venomous squamates, especially vipers - digests tissue proteins and peptides.

Hyaluronidase - all venomous squamates - Reduces viscosity of connective tissue, increases permeability, hastens the spread of other consituents of venom through the tissues.

L-amino Acid Oxidase - all venomous squamates - Attacks a wide variety of substrates, causes great tissue destruction.

Basic Polypeptides - elapids - blocks neuromuscular transmission.

Cholinesterase - high in elapids, low in viperids - Unknown. It is not responsible for the nerve-muscle blocking effect of elapid venom.

Phospholipase - all venomous squamates - attacks cell membranes.

Phosphatases - all venomous squamates - attacks high-energy phosphate compounds such as ATP.

This may be a little more technical than you were wanting, but it's a pretty good summation of the actual enzymes involved in the venoms themselves that we generically lable neurotoxic, hemotoxin, cytotoxin, etc. For more information I suggest you contact Dr. Bryan Fry, who often posts on these forums, as he has been studying venom in-depth for quite a while now and knows an amazing amount about it's constituents.
-Chance