FF Survey

[Dr Small]

Not only are they among the most beautiful beasts on Earth but they serve a very important role in the natural balance.

You may consider them beautiful, but when they are right next to me, and threaten my life, I necessarily don't notice their beauty.


Dr Small

[Papa Spot]

I understand that you were jesting, Dr Small, but I'd like to dispell a couple of myths about rattlesnakes.

Fewer people die of rattlesnake bites than die of bee stings. Rattlesnakes are just not as poisonous as most people think they are. (The exception is the Mohave rattlesnake found only in the Mohave Desert.) Rattlesnakes are not agressive. Unless you're blocking a rattlesnake's path to its den, it will do everything possible to get away from you. If you ARE blocking its path to its den, it will give you a big nasty display trying to scare you into moving out of the way. Rattlesnakes just aren't too interested in biting anything other than what they intend to eat.

[Dr Small]

Oooohhhh. Ok.
See, I never knew that.

I'm glad you brought that to my attention.
Maybe I'll be killing less rattlesnakes and seeing more of God's beautiful creation.
(....although i've never actually seen one in real life....)


Dr Small

[BETA_mybb_import3230]

But arn't rattlesnakes the most poisoness snake in the world?!?

[Papa Spot]

Oh, no! Not by a LONG shot, Sara. Rattlesnakes (except the Mohave rattlesnake) are hemotoxic. That means they damage the muscle tissue. The most poisonous snakes are neurotoxic, which means that they damage nerve tissue. The most poisonous snake in the world is subject to debate but most herpetologists say that the Inland Taipan is the most poisonous. As I said, people almost never die of a rattlesnake bite. But the Inland Taipan injects poison in one bite that is capable of killing over 100 human beings. Needless to say, unless you get the anti-venom and really quickly, you're almost certain to die of the bite of an Inland Taipan. The Black Mamba is also a very deadly snake and most people die within about twenty minutes of being bitten if they don't get the anti-venom right away. With a rattlesnake bite, in a really BAD case, you might lose part of the leg or arm that you were bitten on but even that's rare and people almost NEVER die of a rattlesnake bite.

The thing about rattlesnakes (and pretty much all snakes, for that matter) is that they keep rodent populations under control. If all the snakes were suddenly killed or removed from the planet, we'd be up to our ears in rats in no time. Personally, I prefer the company of a rattlesnake to the company of a rat any day.

[FirefoxWiz]

Wikipedia says: "Rattlesnakes have the most potent hemotoxic venom of any snake, making them one of the most dangerous snakes in the world."

[Papa Spot]

Wikipedia says: "Rattlesnakes have the most potent hemotoxic venom of any snake, making them one of the most dangerous snakes in the world."

If you'll give me the link to that, I'll go there and correct it because that is flat-out wrong.

[Papa Spot]

Okay, it's fixed. It no longer says that.

Remember that Wikipedia is written by readers. In other words, the person who wrote that article was probably the night clerk at the Git-N-Go who fancies himself a herpetologist. I only corrected a couple of the most stupid errors; I don't have time to rewrite the whole thing. All you have to do is take a look at the glaring inconsistencies in the article to know that the writer doesn't have a clue. The writer claims (well, CLAIMED before I edited him or her) that rattlesnake bites usually result in death. Then he goes on to admit that, of the average 8,000 people bitten in the U.S. yearly, only about fifteen die. He claimed that the use of anti-venom reduces the number of deaths to about four percent. Do the math. Fifteen is less than 2/10 of 1 percent of 8,000. And 2/10 of 1 percent is a LONG WAY from being "usually fatal." (Two-tenths of one percent means that, for every 1,000 people bitten, two of them die. The FLU has a lot higher mortality rate than THAT.)

Now here's some more math. If a single bite from a Fierce snake (a.k.a. Inland Tiapan) is toxic enough to kill 100 human beings yet only two people out of every one thousand die from a rattlesnake bite, is it realistic to say that the rattlesnake is "one of the most deadly snakes in the world"? In my view, it doesn't even come close.

While I think Wikipedia can be fun it's value as a source is pretty limited. Like I said, ANYONE can write, edit or completely rewrite any article there.

[Papa Spot]

And don't get me wrong--I'm not saying that rattlesnakes can't be dangerous. There's people running around minus an arm or a leg because of rattlesnake bites. And, OCCASIONALLY, they are fatal but that's extremely rare. But to say that they're one of the deadliest snakes in the world is just not true.

[FirefoxWiz]

Wikipedia says: "Rattlesnakes have the most potent hemotoxic venom of any snake, making them one of the most dangerous snakes in the world."

If you'll give me the link to that, I'll go there and correct it because that is flat-out wrong.

Sorry. I shoulda posted it with the quote. Cause when I tried to post it the internet cut out!