Can venomoid snakes eat normally?
Because venomoids no longer have the ability to inject their prey with venom, it is not appropriate to offer live food items to venomoid snakes since it leaves them at risk of injury from their intended prey. Venomoid snakes should only be offered dead prey items. One argument that occasionally arises in discussions about venomoid snakes is the view that venom is integral to the ability of venomous snakes to digest prey items efficiently, and that by removing the venom glands, keepers place their specimens at a functional disadvantage. Until a scientific study is carried out to measure the digestive efficiency of snakes which have injected venom, in comparison to those that have not, this belief remains largely unproven. Many keepers who have venomous snakes have observed that when offered dead prey, some species such as Naja kaouthia and Pseudechis australis simply grasp and swallow the prey without making any apparent attempt to inject venom beforehand, suggesting that the use of ven
