Plain Stupidity

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Originally Posted by TJ'sHerps

Mine as well. No matter how many times I explain this to people they still refer to them as Poisonous.

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Some snake venom is poisonous, so I DO think that is a valid understanding. It’s a matter of semantics to say that the animal itself is not poisonous but their venom is. That understanding doesn’t bother me a bit. Some snake venom IS deadly; Again, another opportunity to educate. ‘Teachable moment’ if you will.

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Originally Posted by Chocolate Muffin's

Some snake venom is poisonous, so I DO think that is a valid understanding. It’s a matter of semantics to say that the animal itself is not poisonous but their venom is. That understanding doesn’t bother me a bit. Some snake venom IS deadly; Again, another opportunity to educate. ‘Teachable moment’ if you will.

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You bite poison. Venom bites you. I think you are misunderstanding the literal meaning of the words. To call it poisonous, you'd have to go suck down a vial of venom... and that's hardly possible in any natural situation.

To the OP... there's no need to get angry with people's ignorance about snakes. It's not common knowledge, many people don't know squat. Working at a reptile store, I pretty much answer these "stupid" questions all day long. I even hear people who own reptiles saying ridiculous things. "I got a 38 foot Egyptian python back home!" Just smile and Nod and go along your business. If it's someone close to you, take the opportunity to teach. No need to get worked up over it.

It greatly pisses me off when I've heard enough. It just tells me how people don't even bother to do their research and believe stupid rumors. I've gotten a few people to get out of being scared of snakes, which I feel accomplished about. One of my friends would stay 10 feet away from me. She now handles my largest snake in my collection (which isn't that big, but still quite a surprise).

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Originally Posted by Chocolate Muffin's

Some snake venom is poisonous, so I DO think that is a valid understanding. It’s a matter of semantics to say that the animal itself is not poisonous but their venom is. That understanding doesn’t bother me a bit. Some snake venom IS deadly; Again, another opportunity to educate. ‘Teachable moment’ if you will.

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Venom (which is highly toxic) comes from animals whether it be from getting bitten or stung.

Poison (which is also highly toxic) only affects you if you drink or inject it.

It is close to the same thing, but venom is natural and comes from animals rather than poison which has to be self injected or drunk.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Venom (which is highly toxic) comes from animals whether it be from getting bitten or stung.

Poison (which is also highly toxic) only affects you if you drink or inject it.

It is close to the same thing, but venom is natural and comes from animals rather than poison which has to be self injected or drunk.

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Poison is natural and comes from plants/animals too. Cane Toads for example, are quite poisonous. Or poison dart frogs... or mushrooms. You get the idea. :P

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Originally Posted by Hulihzack

Poison is natural and comes from plants/animals too. Cane Toads for example, are quite poisonous. Or poison dart frogs... or mushrooms. You get the idea. :P

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Well I did know that but I'm saying venom can be injected from getting bitten or stung.:D

Like was said above - poison is INGESTED (poison dart frogs secrete a poison on their skin so that when predators ingest them, they get sick, and will avoid them in the future) and venom is INJECTED.

What's interesting about poison dart frogs is that their poison is from their diet in their natural habitat. Those kept in captivity fed on fruit flies are not poisonous.

So, there are no poisonous snakes, but there are venomous snakes.

I've brought my snakes to my cousin's kindergarten class three times now (along with a few of my salamander, frogs, and lizards) and while there were four kids who refused to come near them the first time, all of them have now at least touched them, and I've done the same for my older cousins as well. I love helping kids learn new things about animals and get rid of their inherited fear (I've actually gotten a call from a "concerned parent"). My friend was also terrified of snakes when I got my first BP, but now I can't get them away from her :D

It's just ignorance, and while there will always be some who refuse to see otherwise, we should work on helping people understand these animals with patience. :)

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Like was said above - poison is INGESTED (poison dart frogs secrete a poison on their skin so that when predators ingest them, they get sick, and will avoid them in the future)

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I was watching this show on Discovery last night and it was something about how fast these dangerous animals can kill (native to Brazil). Poison Dart Frogs were one of them, and it was talking about how they have an invisible layer of poison on their backs and how fast this poison can kill once it's in the body. The show was quite interesting, it also had some stuff on the Brazilian Wandering Spider, Brazilian Yellow Scorpion, the Bushmaster, Africanized Killer Bees, and an Anaconda.

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Originally Posted by Hulihzack

Poison is natural and comes from plants/animals too. Cane Toads for example, are quite poisonous. Or poison dart frogs... or mushrooms. You get the idea. :P

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Thank you - Now it’s that it’s been clarified, I still understand that people who are not well versed in this, could believe that an particular animal was ‘poisonous.’ In addition, there are many articles that are written that use these terms interchangeably so, I don’t hold it against people who make educated misunderstandings. I’m learning to try and understand and respect the disconnect people have with snakes; I don’t get angry with them although they can and do say some really silly things.