Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, guys...the jig is up. Our cover is blown. Next, they'll surely find out about the highly venomous and dangerous Spitting Garter Snakes and the most dangerous and venomous creature of them all, the Corn Viper.

Read this one:

Venomous Python in the news

Not Corn Vipers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They any relation to that seasonal threat THE CANDYCANETILS?????
fRANK
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Yes, very closely related. Also related to Windshield Vipers.

Then we are doomed! Well guess I'll have to empty my pond of all MY CROAK-A-LIDS!
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

WHAT ABOUT THE COPPERHEAD??????

Everybody knows Copperheads are non-venomous. If you don't believe that, just read the article. It's proof. It's in the news, so it must be accurate and true.

well gosh there pilgram, i gotta go get some copperheads for the kiddies cause the wife is gonna kill me for the venomous pythons i got, lmao lmao lmao

According to BGFry that author may be more correct than incorrect...

Venom Hunt Finds 'Harmless' Snakes A Potential Danger

Dr Bryan Fry is Deputy Director of the University of Melbourne's Australian Venom Research Unit and his discovery has shaken the foundations of reptile evolution, opened the door for a new class of novel drugs and, as many of these assumed harmless snakes are sold in pet stores worldwide, is causing experts to re-evaluate the relative danger of non-venomous snakes....

See the article at
Venom Hunt Finds 'Harmless' Snakes A Potential Danger

Yeah, I've seen this a number of times. I have to tell you that I really sort of take it with a grain of salt for all practical purposes. It's probably meaningful in the study of the evolution of snakes and venom, but for the mainstream snake-keeper it means nothing. Maybe in a couple hundred years there will be enough DeVournoy's Gland activity in some of these snakes to be concerned about....but not right now. At least I've never heard of anyone being hospitalized by a Corn Snake. IMHO, all it serves for now is ammunition for the people that don't think we should be allowed to keep snakes at all, and weak ammunition at that.

>>Yeah, I've seen this a number of times. I have to tell you that I really sort of take it with a grain of salt for all practical purposes. It's probably meaningful in the study of the evolution of snakes and venom, but for the mainstream snake-keeper it means nothing. Maybe in a couple hundred years there will be enough DeVournoy's Gland activity in some of these snakes to be concerned about....but not right now. At least I've never heard of anyone being hospitalized by a Corn Snake. IMHO, all it serves for now is ammunition for the people that don't think we should be allowed to keep snakes at all, and weak ammunition at that.

Hi mate

You are entirely correct about the practical aspects and that has been something we have been stressing all along. While these snakes indeed do possess true venom (the distinction between Duvernoy's gland and venom gland having been abandoned) this certainly does not mean all will be dangerous. It certainly would not be grounds for treating these snakes legislatively the same as Atractaspidids/Elapids/Viperids. The key here is that within the various 'colubrid' families, there has been at least one member shown to be dangerously venomous. While the majority of the 'colubrids' will not be able to produce clinically notable envenomations, there certainly are a number of species that will. Some of which we know, some of which we have yet to fully reveal and no doubt ones that we have yet to discover. Thus while the impact on mainstream snake keeping may be minimal on a day to day basis, there are a few larger issues to work out. From a research perspective, however, the impact is immediate and significant.

Cheers
B
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
Deputy Director
Australian Venom Research Unit
University of Melbourne

www.venomdoc.com

Yeah, it's not the research or the findings that the problem. As I said before, I'm sure it is meaningful in context. The problem is the way the press grabs it and runs. The sensationalism, and the way they tend to make it out that every Garter Snake is a potential killer of humans. I've heard about levels of Duvernoy's (mis-spelled in my last post...sorry) secretions in Colubrid saliva for years (this is the first serious and meaningful research I've seen, though), and it's long been known that certain Nerodia and others have an anticoagulant quality, etc. It's also been known for many years that certain Colubrids are dangerously venomous (Theladornis, Dispholidus, etc.). However, the thing I was poking fun at is the press and their uncanny talent for NEVER getting the facts straight and reporting a story as it was actually told or as it actually happens. Then the "Anti's" get wind of the story and because they actually somehow manage to know even less than the press about what they are talking about (amazing, but true), the next thing you know some goofball politician is proposing more legislation.