Saturday, November 23, 2013

Snakes aren't Poisonous

"Why are you obsessed with snakes?"
"You might catch a poisonous one and die"
And, every time that happens, which happens a lot, I've got to start up on Zoology Lecture 101 back and again! So, Finally I've decided to put my laziness aside and write a blog about it and end this lecture thing once  for all, so that I can ask them to read my blog !
So, back to the problem in saying, "Snakes are Poisonous" ! No, the Snakes aren't poisonous! They are Venomous! And, I know, the person reading this will definitely say, whats the difference? Aren't they the same? Just like everyone I encounter but, NO Poison and Venom are two different things!
Venom, as in the case of snakes, are those toxins present in varieties of animals most commonly snakes! Unlike, Poisons, Venom's need to get into your blood streams to take effect! Where as poison could affect with direct contact or by swallowing!
To break it down, lets say we have the The Inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), considered as the worlds most Venomous snake, and it is said that the smallest volume of it could kill an Elephant or 100 Humans! But, If you were to take a full glass of Taipan venom and drink it, unless you have an internal ulceration in the Gastrointestinal tract, you will be fine! Nothing will happen, even with the most Venomous snake's venom! The venom has to be injected into the blood, which in case of Snakes is done by Fangs which act as hypodermic needles! But in case of Poison, it will harm you even if you touch it or drink or eat or get it into your Alimentary canal. So there's the major difference between Venom and Poison! 

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis