thought about that one a lot myself... i work for a herpetologist who has done gut content research on platyrhinos (but not extensively), and according to him they found mouse remains with some frequency....
i have seen pictures of a nasicus bite (the link is posted in this forum) and they show quite a lot of swelling... (if they are geniune, that is)
it makes sense to me that whatever form of venom they possess would also produce a swelling effect in a rodent with a smaller body size, perhaps causing the vital organs such as the heart and lungs to swell as well? or at least swell the body to the point of immobility? a snakes sense of smell is amazing as well, perhaps they are able to track a mouse after biting...
I have never witnessed feeding habits of platyrhinos though, so i can not be certain either way. I plan on doing some independant research this summer to get some credits towards my degree though, and have actually been considering looking into this... hehehe, let you know if i learn anything!!
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1.1 argentine b/w tegus
1.0 anery corn
0.1 western hog
0.1 leopard gecko
1.1 blue headed tree agama
0.0.1 ball python
0.0.1 western fox
And always looking for more!!

[ Hide Replies ]

• Once again, diving in to the platyrhinos/venom/rodent question.... - TxHerper, Fri May 14 00:51:42 2004
• RE: Once again, diving in to the platyrhinos/venom/rodent question.... - WW, Fri May 14 03:27:52 2004
• RE: Once again, diving in to the platyrhinos/venom/rodent question.... - TxHerper, Fri May 14 19:41:22 2004
• my experience - A.C., Mon May 17 22:36:34 2004
• RE: my experience - TxHerper, Thu May 20 01:36:19 2004
• RE: my experience - A.C., Thu May 20 12:45:51 2004
• RE: Once again, diving in to the platyrhinos/venom/rodent question.... - scales, Thu May 20 17:26:47 2004
• YES, that's the way to go! - A.C., Fri May 21 07:49:03 2004