What happens if a poisonous snake bites itself? Unexpected Results of Observations (6 photos)

Scientists are like little children. They always ask "why?" and "what if?" Have you ever thought about what would happen if a snake decided to bite itself? Scientists have! And they've done a lot of research on this topic. So what will happen to the clumsy snake?





Most likely... nothing will happen! At most, the snake will just feel uncomfortable because of the bite itself, but the reptile's venom, no matter how strong, in most cases does not affect the snake itself. And this fact is an unplowed field for medicine. Snakes invented an antidote about 200 million years earlier than we did! Moreover, our antidotes are empty water compared to snake ones. They have a rather low efficiency, are difficult to use and are not very accessible in remote regions. But the reptiles' defense mechanism works without fail! Moreover, each beast has its own secrets, which we will now reveal.



Ouroboros is in a good mood today!

Animals whose venom affects nerve endings, such as cobras or vipers, solve the problem radically. They reconfigure their own nerves so that the toxin cannot affect them in any way. This is a very risky activity: even one mistake can lead to death. Neurons are no joke.





When the snake lost the game "snake".

Nerve cells transmit impulses to each other using electrical and chemical signals. In most living organisms, nerve endings have a negative (-) charge. Now let's remember our school physics course: + is always attracted to -. To quickly and easily turn off the victim's nervous system, neurotoxins in snake venom have a positive (+) charge.

But the neurons of poisonous snakes are also positively charged. Even if such a snake bites itself, its venom will not be able to act, because the toxins (+) will be repelled by the nerves of the reptile (+). Some species of snakes, however, do not risk reconfiguring. They cover the neurons with a protective layer of sugars. And this also works!



If you think that your situation is hopeless, just look at this photo.

Other animals whose venom affects the blood or directly the cells at the site of the bite simply store some supply of antidote in their bodies. It is not known for certain whether snakes are born with immunity to venom or develop it as they grow older. According to scientists, throughout the snake's life, microdoses of toxins enter the body from the poison glands. This is how immunity is developed in the form of inhibitor substances. Inhibitors either completely stop the reaction of venom with the tissues of the snake itself, or slow it down so much that nothing happens.



Wisdom of the day from Mr. Snake: if you missed on the hunt and bit yourself, pretend that everything is as it should be!

Both of these mechanisms for protecting against your own venom also work against bites from snakes of your own species. Sometimes the defense works on toxins of other species, if the components of the poison are similar. This is especially helpful for reptiles that are hunted by their own kind.



The life hack is relevant for snakes that live next to the king cobra. The predator's diet consists mainly of its own kind.

But even in such a prehistoric and honed process of self-defense, there are sometimes failures. There was a case when something went wrong, and a brown boyga died from its own bite. Scientists have yet to find out whether all boygas are so vulnerable to their own poison, or only this particular reptile. The second case of animal death from poison was recorded during an experiment. Zoologists pitted two rattlesnakes against each other, after which both died. And again, the reasons remain to be determined. Perhaps the reptiles had an antidote to their own toxins, which did not work on the poison of their relative. But why is an open question.