# Miscellaneous Herp Interests > Venomous Animals >  Are False Water Cobras venomous ?

## ball python 22

Just as the title says are False Water Cobras venomous?

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## Skiploder

> Just as the title says are False Water Cobras venomous?


Yes..

So are bearded dragons and garter snakes.

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Foschi Exotic Serpents (03-18-2012)

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## crepers86

but FWC are rare fang and usually docile they just have to chew on you to inject venom. If it does happen to invanamate it will make you sick but wont kill you. I have thought about getting a FWC and I have even been shopping around for one. a true FWC is a bit pricey but a Chinese FWC is not that bad of a price by what I found...

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## Sarin

> but FWC are rare fang and usually docile they just have to chew on you to inject venom. If it does happen to invanamate it will make you sick but wont kill you. I have thought about getting a FWC and I have even been shopping around for one. a true FWC is a bit pricey but a Chinese FWC is not that bad of a price by what I found...


...What?


Anyway, yes FWC are venomous. They have rear fixed fangs (like a Hognose, for example). Their venom isn't studied too well but it is said to be fairly toxic (close to that of a Timber Rattler) however the delivery system isn't very good.

Everyone reacts to venom differently. Death is absolutely a possability if you happen to be the wrong person. However it is unlikely and there hasn't been a documented case that I have read as of yet.

I am not an expert but I have been doing a lot of reading on these guys for the past couple of years. This is just some of what I have gathered from that research.

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## Skiploder

> ...What?
> 
> 
> Anyway, yes FWC are venomous. They have rear fixed fangs (like a Hognose, for example). Their venom isn't studied too well but it is said to be fairly toxic (close to that of a Timber Rattler) however the delivery system isn't very good.
> 
> Everyone reacts to venom differently. Death is absolutely a possability if you happen to be the wrong person. However it is unlikely and there hasn't been a documented case that I have read as of yet.
> 
> I am not an expert but I have been doing a lot of reading on these guys for the past couple of years. This is just some of what I have gathered from that research.



Death?

Uh,  okay..................

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## Foschi Exotic Serpents

> Yes..
> 
> So are bearded dragons and garter snakes.


Lol I love it! 

Yeah the rear fanged snakes can't really hurt you though. Unless you shove your fingers down its throat. 

Beardie venom, which is in upper and lower glands near the back of the throat, (yes both species are venomous) is believed to only be mildly harmful since its only purpose is to paralyze or kill live insects as they are being swallowed. 


*       ----> Signature <----
*Factoid: "There are no such things as Hogg Island or Columbian boas"*

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## ball python 22

Thanks for all the info you guys I was just curious if they were venomousor not.

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## Sarin

> Death?
> 
> Uh,  okay..................



Yes, death is definitely a possability. Just like with Bee stings.

Now I am not saying a bite is like an elapid or anthing, but there's always a risk.

Like I said I am no expert, but anaphylaxis is real with any sort of venom. So I am sure to treat mine with a lot of respect.  :Smile:

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## WarriorPrincess90

> Yes, death is definitely a possability. Just like with Bee stings.
> 
> Now I am not saying a bite is like an elapid or anthing, but there's always a risk.
> 
> Like I said I am no expert, but anaphylaxis is real with any sort of venom. So I am sure to treat mine with a lot of respect.


X2. Anaphylaxis is a possibility with anything, it just depends on the person. Someone allergic to dogs could be in the same vicinity as one and set it off, just depends on the severity of the allergy and differs from individual to individual, and can even become worse over time with more exposures. So yes, death is always a possibility, but to be honest, every time someone is exposed to something new there's always a risk.

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Manillegirl (12-17-2019)

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## C&H Exotic Morphs

> Yes, death is definitely a possability. Just like with Bee stings.
> 
> Like I said I am no expert, but anaphylaxis is real with any sort of venom. So I am sure to treat mine with a lot of respect.





> X2. Anaphylaxis is a possibility with anything, it just depends on the person. Someone allergic to dogs could be in the same vicinity as one and set it off, just depends on the severity of the allergy and differs from individual to individual, and can even become worse over time with more exposures. So yes, death is always a possibility, but to be honest, every time someone is exposed to something new there's always a risk.


Anaphylaxis CANNOT happen the first time you are exposed to any substance!

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Skiploder (03-19-2012),_WarriorPrincess90_ (03-19-2012)

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## Skiploder

> Yes, death is definitely a possability. Just like with Bee stings.
> 
> Now I am not saying a bite is like an elapid or anthing, but there's always a risk.
> 
> Like I said I am no expert, but anaphylaxis is real with any sort of venom. So I am sure to treat mine with a lot of respect.





> X2. Anaphylaxis is a possibility with anything, it just depends on the person. Someone allergic to dogs could be in the same vicinity as one and set it off, just depends on the severity of the allergy and differs from individual to individual, and can even become worse over time with more exposures. So yes, death is always a possibility, but to be honest, every time someone is exposed to something new there's always a risk.


Bull Ship.

The risk of having an allergic reaction to something you've never been exposed to before is diddly over squat.

Since you are not an expert, here's a quote from an expert that will set the record straight on this fairy tail:

"*Snake venom allergies are actually quite rare. The most common cases are to venom lab staff who work around powdered venom without sealing off the eyes with clear swim goggles and the mouth and nose with a particulate filter (NOT a surgical mask, they are useless for this purpose). People who keep spittting cobras are also at risk of developing an allergy from venom drying in the cage. Allergies to colubrid snakes are not going to happen. Most people use this statement 'its not going to affect you unless you have an allergy' when talking about many rear-fanged snakes. The first part is true enough but the allergy angle is a bit of a non-sequiter since it is extremely unlikely to occur unless you start working around a few grams of Boiga venom for example.* "

That quote is from Dr. Brian Fry, one of the most prominent experts on venomous reptiles in the world.

Sarin, I realize that you just got a FWC.  That's great.  Enjoy your animal but be careful not to propagate internet hokum about this species.  Claiming they can be deadly is hokum.  Claiming that anaphylactic shock is possible from this species is hokum.  

The last thing we need is your word being taken as gospel by some idiot wanting to ban more snakes in more states.

Are you getting what I'm saying?

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_Herpenthusiast3_ (11-07-2015),John1982 (03-19-2012),_Virus_ (04-26-2012)

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## Skiploder

........and before someone starts hyping the toxicity of their venom:

"*Much has been made of the venom being as toxic as a rattlesnake. So what. The lethal dose would therefore be in the neighborhood of 100 milligrams. Even with chemical stimulation, these snakes can't give more than a few milligrams of venom. The venom is mostly composed of large enzymes and consequently the effects would be primarily localised swelling and itching. This is in contrast to the Colubrine subfamily/family within the Colubrid superfamily/taxonomical-dumping-ground. The Colubrines typically have very potent neurotoxic venom and some (such as Telescopus and Psammophis) can have very very large venom yields. Telescopus has extreme yields for its size. However, the fangs are fairly pathetic so the relative danger posed by them is also low but due to a poor delivery system rather than weak venom. 

So, from a technical perspective, yes H. gigas is venomous. However, from a practical/legislative perpective it is in my opinion essentially non-venomous.

We have several papers in the works on various colubrid venoms.

Cheers
BGF* "

I go back to my first post in this thread.  Technically, many things are "venomous" - garter snakes, bearded dragons, varanids, false water cobras etc.  

Realistically and statistically, the odds of dying from a false water cobra bite are on par with death by asphyxiation from a ball python.

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_Herpenthusiast3_ (11-07-2015),_Virus_ (04-26-2012)

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## Sarin

I understand fully what you are saying and am not disagreeing with you, Skip. Everything you've posted has been accurate with my research.

Perhaps I just didn't explain myself clearly. I was merely saying that is it _possible_ but extremely unlikely. My statement might've been pretty premature, but not impossible in my opinion.

I won't go sticking my finger down my FWC's throat, but I won't freak out if she happens to come into contact.

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## Mike41793

Sure I could die from a fwc bite.  Right after I win the lottery lol... Ive been tagged by my uncles hoggy quite a few times, with no negative side effects.  Yes i know im only one person but come on...

Not trying to stir up a fight by any means but are there any documented cases of someone dieing from a rear fanged snake bite? like a fwc or a hognose etc.?

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## Skiploder

> Sure I could die from a fwc bite.  Right after I win the lottery lol... Ive been tagged by my uncles hoggy quite a few times, with no negative side effects.  Yes i know im only one person but come on...
> 
> Not trying to stir up a fight by any means but are there any documented cases of someone dieing from a rear fanged snake bite? like a fwc or a hognose etc.?


Yes - the dispholidines - specifically thelotornis (twig snakes) and dispholidus (boomslangs) have caused human fatalities.  

Both species have virulent venom, large rear fangs and compressor muscles on those fangs.

Rhabdophis tigrinus have also fatally envenomated people, as have Philodryas Olfersii.

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_Mike41793_ (03-19-2012)

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## jason_ladouceur

I know that there is a real danger of hypersensitivity being caused by a cross reaction resulting from the exposure to components of Snake venom from sources other than the animal in question.  For instance you may never have had any contact with C. Atrox, but you have spent years working with C. Contortrix.  There is a very real danger that the diamond backs bite could trigger and allergic reaction due to the components that its venom shares with the copper heads venom, that you have been exposed to.   Knowing little to nothing about H. Gigas venom it is pure speculation for me,  but I would think that its more than likely the venom that they have shares several of its many components with other venoms that a person may have been exposed to.  So I think it is within the realm of possibility that given the right set of circumstances if a person did somehow manage to get FWC venom in to their body, that you could have an allergic reaction even if you had never been exposed gigas venom in the past.  That being said,  the likelihood of someone suffering a severe allergic response to a bite from this species is so unlikely that it barley even warrants mentioning.

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## WarriorPrincess90

> Anaphylaxis CANNOT happen the first time you are exposed to any substance!


Oops, forgot to add that. Thanks!  :Very Happy:

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## MidSouthMorphs

> ...What?
> 
> 
> Anyway, yes FWC are venomous. They have rear fixed fangs (like a Hognose, for example). Their venom isn't studied too well but it is said to be fairly toxic (close to that of a Timber Rattler) however the delivery system isn't very good.
> 
> Everyone reacts to venom differently. Death is absolutely a possability if you happen to be the wrong person. However it is unlikely and there hasn't been a documented case that I have read as of yet.
> 
> I am not an expert but I have been doing a lot of reading on these guys for the past couple of years. This is just some of what I have gathered from that research.


Timber Rattlesnakes are fairly toxic?  Crotalus Horridus are one of the most toxic snakes in North America.  Honestly, I wouldn't list any snake as highly, fairly, or slightly venomous.  They should all be treated as just "Venomous" with the same respect.

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_Lupe_ (04-09-2012)

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