Posted by:
WW
at Thu Mar 30 06:24:59 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by WW ]
Hmmm.... hard to fault the experimental procedure, but even so - the total volume of the fang is easily calculable (approx 10 ul is you assume an average diamater of 1 mm and a length (straightened) of 13 mm), and the volume of water that was used to fill it is almost the same as the volume of the fang. I have difficulty believing that only 10% of the actual volume of the fang is solid matter...
Drying it out, then weighing it on a superfine balance and then filling it with water and weighing it again may well be the best way, provided one can confidently get rid of ALL the water on the outer fang surface... Itdoesn't tanek much to throw thingsoff course when dealing with these very small quantities.
Another thing would be to try and split it open (or make a cross-section) to see the diameter of the venom canal relative to the entire fang.
Yeah, I know, we all have other things to do.... 
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RE: How much venom can a shed fang hold? - WW, Thu Mar 30 06:24:59 2006