Poison vs. Venom

I went fishing with my grandpa and my grandma's cousin today. We tied the boat to the riverbank and saw a water moccasin swimming near the bank in the shallow water. My grandma's cousin started flipping out how we needed to move away from the "poisonous snake."

I know that snakes are venomous, not poisonous, but right then I realized I had no idea how to explain they were one over the other. So while I feel stupid for asking this question, because I have a feeling it's going to be a simple answer that I should know, can someone explain this to me, please?

Poison is dangerous to you when you ingest it. Venom is a protein and ideally would be digested if ingested. Venom must get into your blood stream to do it's damage (normally via injection with fangs/stingers)

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Originally Posted by kellysballs

Poison is dangerous to you when you ingest it. Venom is a protein and ideally would be digested if ingested. Venom must get into your blood stream to do it's damage (normally via injection with fangs/stingers)

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See, knew it would be simple, lol. Thanks.. I just knew when he said the snake was poisonous that wasn't right. I just didn't correct him because I wasn't sure how to fully do so, and be correct.

You didn't get a picture! I have yet to snap one myself. Have seen many out at my parents farm when I was younger. But, back then it was run away and stay away. Now i'm dying to catch one on film. They are gorgeous!

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

You didn't get a picture! I have yet to snap one myself. Have seen many out at my parents farm when I was younger. But, back then it was run away and stay away. Now i'm dying to catch one on film. They are gorgeous!

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Lol, I have a whole thread of pics from today, and nope.. No picture of it. I tried, but he was too quick. I have never seen one though, and he swam right along the boat, and it was pretty! But I was okay with him staying alongside of the boat in the water, lol.

Poisons can also be delivered by touch and absorbed through the skin.

Robert C Jarin states:
People often ask what the difference between venomous and poisonous. They ask why I tell them not to call a snake poisonous. Well technically all venoms are a poison however not all poisons are venoms. Too many times people get confused because someone on television says that a snake is poisonous while another says venomous. So to make things simple I will explain it. Any type of animal that injects a toxin into your body is venomous. If you touch or ingest a toxin from a plant or animal and become sick then it is poisonous. Snakes that inject toxins from fangs and the two species of Helodermatid lizards are venomous while plants, amphibians, and fungi (mushrooms) are all poisonous. There are varying types of poisons and venoms that I won't get into a lot of detail with. Some snake venoms are designed to destroy blood and tissue cells (Hemotoxins) while others are designed to cause nerve damage (Neurotoxin). Some amphibians such as salamanders have toxins that are harmful if you touch or swallow them. The Rough-skinned Newt has a toxin found throughout its body called Tarichotoxin which is a type of tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin is a toxin made famous by the Japanese Puffer Fish dish, Fugu, where if it isn't cooked just right you can die from eating it. There is an article I read a few years back, in I believe the book Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest, where a college student from Oregon got dared to swallow a Rough-skinned Newt and he ended up dying a couple hours later. This story inspired me to catch some of these newts so I found some in Washington state. I have photos in the summer of 2001.

I am sure that all amphibians are poisonous since they all have granular glands in their skin. I haven't heard of any amphibians that aren't poisonous so if you handle any make sure you wash your hands afterwards. If you got some toxins from a Taricha sp. or some poison dart frog and got that in your eye or mouth you could end up in the hospital. Most toads of course have paratoid glands, which are highly condensed toxin glands at the tops of their heads, as well as granular glands. My teacher Dr. Cobb told a story to our class about a herpetologist who was licking salamanders by a creek bed to find differences in taste. His students apparently found him passed out on the side of the creek. Probably pretty embarrassing for a university professor.

There is a difference between venoms and poisons. I have read that a person can swallow snake venom without feeling any ill effects. As long as your mouth and throat have no sores or open wounds you should be fine. However, if you swallow a poison you will become poisoned. So scientifically speaking it is proper to say that there are venomous snakes not poisonous snakes.


Hope this helps!
Jim Smith

Venom has to be injected into the blood stream to harm you, you can drink venom and nothing will happen. But most posions have to be taken orally.

Venom is toxin that can be injected into another animal either in self-defense or as a means of subduing prey.

I wonder when this distinction became so significant? I've seen plenty of good, authoritative books describe some snakes as "poisonous," but most are at least a few years old. I've also seen many displays at museums and nature exhibits use the word instead of "venomous."