Komodo Dragon has Venom not bacteria

[_Venom_]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6316672.ece

[Skiploder]

Wow - they are running this story 4 years after Fry announces that varanids are venomous - that includes ackies and savannahs..............

Must be a slow news day.

[Creeptastic]

I have also read that savannahs/tegus are venemous. Is this true to the extent that a bite would harm a human?

[_Venom_]

Bearded Dragons have Venom too.
Doesn't mean they use it.
That's why this is special.
Cus' they do use it.

Riiiight?

[Skiploder]

Bearded Dragons have Venom too.
Doesn't mean they use it.
That's why this is special.
Cus' they do use it.

Riiiight?

What do you mean beardies don't use it?

Please explain.

[DutchHerp]

Well, venom is not necessarily for subduing prey. It is also used for predigestion, just like we use saliva to break down some carbohydrates.

Komodo Dragons use the venom for both predigestion and subduing large prey, mostly because Bearded Dragons don't take prey several times their own size, whereas Komodos regularly eat prey that size.

[Denial]

Theres been people trying to tell everyone for years that they are venomous.

Creeptastic,
You have to look into the fact that theres hundreads of different kinds of venom and some can kill you and some just make you sick. Everyone reacts differently to bites from animals. My salvator has bitten me numerous times and Ive never had a problem with it. But a few months ago he bit my wife and he hand swelled up and had to take her to the er to get a shot. But she is allergic to alot of stuff that im not allergic to. Its just different for every person. And just because they have venom doesnt mean they use it all the time. Just how venomous snakes can give dry bites

[_Venom_]

What do you mean beardies don't use it?

Please explain.

They have venom glands, but no way of secreting the venom.

[Skiploder]

They have venom glands, but no way of secreting the venom.

They have no way of secreting the venom?

Where did you read that?

What I got from Fry's paper was that the delivery system is primitive, not that they have no way of delivering it..........

Can you please provide a link to the article or relevant paper that outlines that they can't secrete their venom.

Thanks in advance.

[Skiploder]

Theres been people trying to tell everyone for years that they are venomous.

Creeptastic,
You have to look into the fact that theres hundreads of different kinds of venom and some can kill you and some just make you sick. Everyone reacts differently to bites from animals. My salvator has bitten me numerous times and Ive never had a problem with it. But a few months ago he bit my wife and he hand swelled up and had to take her to the er to get a shot. But she is allergic to alot of stuff that im not allergic to. Its just different for every person. And just because they have venom doesnt mean they use it all the time. Just how venomous snakes can give dry bites

Or is the venom for the enhancement of the teeth?

Does it contain anti-coagulants that make the teeth more effective? Ever notice how varanid bites bleed and bleed?

I've been bitten off and on by drys for years and always wondered why the darned bites bled so much - Fry answered that: most colubrids are venomous.

Varanid venoms inhibit blood clotting, lower blood pressure and relaxes aortic smooth tissue in prey items. A quick bite on a human hand by a pet monitor is likely to only induce the first symptom, if any.