So although some lizards may bite, most cannot poison you. The snake family is closely related to the lizards and is considered the most modern group of reptiles. Snakes have no legs at all and have developed a special way of moving by pushing against the ground and nearby surfaces. Some snakes, the boas and pythons, have tiny external claws which are left over from the former hind legs. Snakes have no movable eyelids and no external ear opening.
All snakes are carnivores, that is, they eat other animals rather than plants.
Prey is always swallowed whole because the snake is not eqipped with legs and claws with which to tear it into bite-size pieces. There are several methods of prey capture, depending largely on the type of prey. Common water snakes and garter snakes, which eat fish, frogs, worms and such soft animals merely seize and swallow them, because this type of prey can cause little damage to the snake. Rat snakes, corn snakes, boas, pythons and many others which feed on rodents, kill the prey before swallowing it, by winding around it and suffocating it. This construction is necessary because such prey have sharp teeth and claws and could easily injure the limbless snake.