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According to reptile care magazine, a director from the University of Melbourne's Australian venom research unit has discovered that not only did snakes develop venom 60 million years ago, and that all snakes are venomous, he also managed to isolate a potent cobra-style nuerotoxin from a rat snake!!!
I just thought I'd let u all know, coz I think its a pretty cool thing to discover.
Kat.
1 female White oak phase grey American ratsnake.('Amazon')
Go to this website to find out more:
http://www.venomdoc.com/
"Venom Doc" Webpage
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alstiver@hotmail.com
Current snakes:
1.0 2001 Hypo snow cornsnake
0.1 2002 Pastel Ghost cornsnake
1.1 2002 Bloodred cornsnakes
To be added when it gets warmer:
0.1 1998 Het Hypo, Het Caramel cornsnake
1.0 2000 Hypo Het Caramel cornsnake
Hi 
Not all the snakes are venomous, just all the advanced snakes. Venom evolved one time, right at the base of the advanced snake tree (Colubroidea superfamily). The primative snakes (pythons, boas, sunbeam snakes, blind snakes etc.) don't have the venom gland. Also, the common ancestor of the narrow clade in North America made up of Lampropeltis/Panterophis/Pituophis and close relatives underwent a secondary loss of the venom gland and reverted back to the more primative constricting condition. The Asian ratsnakes however are venomous as are American garter snakes. Its only that closely related N. American group that has lost the venom (that we've documented so far, there may be other groups just like two unrelated lineages of sea snakes are independently becoming non-venomous due to their specialised diet of fish eggs).
This is not to say the venomous rat snakes are dangerous, they are not. Like the vast majority of the colubrid snakes, they produce enough venom to help settle down a frog but enough to harm a human. I keep making this point crystal clear so that there aren't any assinine laws put in place by moronic legislators! There is a remarkable difference between being technically venomous and being dangerously venomous.
Cheers
Bryan
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
Deputy Director
Australian Venom Research Unit
University of Melbourne
This is not to say the venomous rat snakes are dangerous, they are not. Like the vast majority of the colubrid snakes, they produce enough venom to help settle down a frog but enough to harm a human........
Did you mean to say "not enough to harm a human"?
At least I hope that is what you meant, otherwise I know a lot of people who are going to be rather jumpy around their snakes for a while.
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sue
It's a typo... or my beauty snake would have made me swell up at least a BIT when he tried to eat my arm.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch
>>This is not to say the venomous rat snakes are dangerous, they are not. Like the vast majority of the colubrid snakes, they produce enough venom to help settle down a frog but enough to harm a human........
>>
>>Did you mean to say "not enough to harm a human"?
>>
>>At least I hope that is what you meant, otherwise I know a lot of people who are going to be rather jumpy around their snakes for a while.
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>>sue
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
Deputy Director
Australian Venom Research Unit
University of Melbourne
Thanx for setting it out like that.
I was beginning to think about how many people would be a bit wary of their rat snakes after reading the passage I read in the magazine.
YOU HAVE ONE COOL JOB!!!!(I bet its unreal when you find out things that you do)
Keep up the hard work!
Thanx again.
Kat.
Female white oak grey american rat snake(non-venomous) LOLhaha.
Fangs for that Yes, its quite the buzz to discover things like that Wait till you see the next couple papers!!
Cheers
Bryan
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
Deputy Director
Australian Venom Research Unit
University of Melbourne
Not to worry, Our American Ratsnakes got a clean bill of health....Unless you find one in a bag of potatoes in Alabama.....(lol)
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."
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