Snake Venom

Do the Venom Sacs of our rattlesnakes contain any residual toxicity

We do nothing to remove venom or venom sacs. Most likely, venom still is present in venom sacs. We inject specimens with liquid preservative, then immerse and soak specimens in liquid preservative, and store specimens in liquid preservative until we remove them to pack and ship for a customer order. It is possible the liquid preservative dilutes, perhaps even neutralizes, the venom. However, we never have tested this, so we have no evidence of presence or absence of residual toxicity. It would take dedicated effort for an individual to open the mouth of the specimen, extend the fang(s) from retracted position, puncture themselves with the fang(s), then apply pressure precisely to the venom sac(s) sufficient to inject themselves with venom. However, it is possible an individual determined to do so could accomplish it. We have no knowledge of this ever occurring. We advise proper supervision in any educational setting, protective measures, and use of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) in any lab situation. In this case, this would include use of protective gloves and previous safety training in lab safety and hygiene, use of PPE, and handling of sharp objects or sharp instruments.