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In my travels around the snake related areas of the Internet I found out that nature herself is in the process of making venomoids through the normal evolutionary process. The snakes involved in this process are the two Sea Snakes of the genus Emydocephalus (Turtle Headed Sea Snakes), The Sea Snake Aipysurus eydouxii and the Australian elapid known as the Half Girdled Snake. The key to this natural venomoid producing is THE CHANGE OF THESE SNAKES' DIETS FROM ACTIVE PREY TO FISH AND REPTILE EGGS which are INERT PREY.

Here is the point I'm getting to with this. While some of the testosterone types feed their snakes live prey in order to "enjoy the show" most responsible keepers feed their snakes hot and not some kind of INANIMATE PREY, (usually a dead animal but "snake sausages" are starting to become popular in the hobby especially amongst the "non hot" herpers with the "cute and fuzzy" syndrome that are new to the hobby in general.) Either dead mice or "sausages" however in effect ELIMINATE THE NECESSITY OF A "HOT" SNAKE TO BE "HOT". So my question is do you think that responsible keepers who feed their animals inert prey may be on the way to making venomoids NATURALLY through the keeping and breeding of snakes on inert prey just like the four snakes that are heading in that direction through the evolutionary process I cited above due to their natural switching from an active to an inert prey.

Interesting topic, but you need to read more about "evolution". There is evidence of changes through evolution in a process called PHOTOSYNTHESIS (6H2O 6CO2 -> C6H12O6 6O2). These changes did not happen overnight and venomous snakes becoming "natural" venomoids through evolution is something that's a lot more complex than Photosynthesis.

DEVENOMIZED.COM

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Edited on June 25, 2005 at 21:36:38 by phwyvern.

Absolutely not. If you study the principles of evolution, you will find that mutations occur randomly. A mutation does not occur as a direct result of environmental factors. Rather evolution occurs due to random genetic mutations. When such mutations actually enhance a species's survival in some way, they may very slowly over many gemerations "select out" for that mutation.

...everyone fed their hot snakes dead prety for, oh, say, the next 500,000 years. If that took place, it MIGHT turn out some natural venomoids. Other wise to be called colubrids.
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