i was wondering if anyone here has done any research in regards to the differences between baby and adult venom? i heard a rumor that baby venom floats in water and adult venom will sink to the bottom. if there is any basis behind this or if someone here can do some tests that would be really cool. thanks.
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
difference between baby and adult venom
metalandsnakes
Feb 23, 2009 07:49 AM
Replies (6)
Rich G.cascabel
Feb 24, 2009 08:40 AM
Check Campbell and Lamar (pages 695-697 if I remember corectly), there are citations for several rattlesnake species in which venom of babies was found to be several times more toxic than that of adults.
celticvamp
Feb 26, 2009 12:56 PM
Must keep in mind though that there are two completely apposing variables to the comparison of a baby to an adult bite. One is that the baby may have a more toxic venom but the venom yield is so much less that it still normally can't compare to a good envenomation from a good size adult (in most cases). Two is that the younger a venomous snake is it's been found they don't deliver dry bites as often as an adult may. So that could contradict the yield of the larger snake. So to compare the bite of a large adult to a small venomous snake can be a gamble.
metalandsnakes
Feb 26, 2009 11:08 PM
i was also wondering if specifically baby venom floats in water and adult venom sinks. or the other way around. if there is anyone here that could do that test that would be awesome.
yoyoing
Feb 27, 2009 05:07 PM
You are asking about the specific gravity of venom. I don't see why this is not an interesting question.
celticvamp
Feb 27, 2009 05:18 PM
You're asking about the density of the venom compared to water. Since liquid density is recorded by researchers in comparison to water the answer you are looking for would be easy to find if you ask the right person (a venom research expert). Post your question on Bryan Fry's forums you'll get definitive answers there. www.venomdoc.com
psilocybe
Feb 27, 2009 10:53 PM
Wet venom IS mostly water...solubilized proteins in suspension, essentially. My guess is that mixing venom in water would cause most of the venom to diffuse into the water, essentially just diluting it. I seriously don't think you could garner any information about where it came from based on this.
Now, if you used a sucrose gradient (or something similar) under centrifugation, you could separate the proteins by their sedimentation constants...comparing samples adults and babies may prove useful this way.
-----
Abhishek Prasad
