Snakes rub up against a rough object like bark or rocks to start molting. Then they crawl out of the old skin, usually shedding it in one piece. Snake scales are made out of keratin, the same substance as your fingernails. Snakes do not chew their food. The backward direction of their teeth allows the snake to pull the food into its mouth, which is swallowed whole and digested in the stomach.
Snakes use their tongue in a flicking motion to pick up particles of air, water, etc.
The snake s tongue carries these particles to the roof of the mouth, where they are analyzed by the snake s Jacobson s organ. So this process really combines both smell and taste. If you are bitten by a venomous snake, the doctor uses antivenom, a venom antidote made from the venom of the snake that bit you. Venom is collected from poisonous snakes in order to create the medicine needed to treat the bites. Discussion Questions 1.