Venom and digestion

[MudBoy]

I know a lot of you guys dont like Steve Irwin as a lot of his fellow Australians dont like him but is he not the most keen herp you have ever seen??
His Zoo is just down the road from my house and I got free tickets one day so I went along to have a look and it is a GREAT day out.
I was lucky enough to have a good chat with one of the handlers at Australia Zoo and the topic came around to venom kills as apposed to fresh killed rats as I had noticed my taipans were swallowing fresh killed rats without biting them.
This very experienced young man said to me "well put it to the test" so as per his instructions I put a live rat in the cage and let it get bit them took it out and placed it in the sun beside a fresh killed rat of the same size and the difference in decompisition was amazing.
The venomated rat turned to mush in 2 days when the fresh killed rat was still in fair shape, but this was taipans, I wonder what the same test would be like with some of your more exotic snakes ???
Ok all you hot snake owners whos got rats too spare to settle an old argument??
just kidding, I just thought you may find this interesting.

Cheers

Rick.

[Gregg M]

Well I am sure that venom may aid in digestion but I do not feel it is needed....... The main function of venom is to imobilize prey....... But I am sure you already know that.... LOL..... I have a few gaboons that do not even walk mice down with their fangs..... So they are not even putting venom in prekilled mice....... I also have a couple of gaboons that inject dead prey like it was alive...... I may have to try that little test of yours...... I will post the results...... Maybe even some pics too..... But trying to get a mouse from a gaboons mouth might be alittle tricky......

[Gregg M]

Oh and even if most of us dont agree with Steve Irwins handling style you gotta atleast like him for what he does for the conservation of reptiles.......

[marisa]

I would LOVE to go see his Zoo! You are very lucky! It must be so nice to be able to visit a Zoo where reptiles are the top attraction. The Toronto Zoo has some nice stuff, but reptiles aren't the focus really.

Marisa

[BWSmith]

I can tell you that when a baby Pygmy Rattler bites a pink mouse, it will be a puddle within 24 hours.

[MudBoy]

Greg M
Do you have any good pix of gaboon viper fangs or links to pix of em I cant seem to find any but what I have seen!! BOY what a set of choppers!!
I dont think they would have to bite a rat I think the poor lil bugga would die of fright when the gaboon opened his mouth.
LOL!!

[Gregg M]

Here ya go mudboy..... I am trying to get a better one every time I feed them...... One day I will get that perfect shot.....http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1298img_0503-med.jpg

[ETET]

Look forward to see your test Gregg. I did see a cobra bit a pinky rat, and the rat turn black and mushy in a few hours' time.

ETET