Poisonous or Venomous

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i think u just need to sort ur life out and get over it. if somthing that pointless gets under ur skin. u need to re think your love of herps and if your in it for the right reasons.

All people are trying to do is raise the standard of the technical debate on venom vs toxin. Venoms are toxins, but toxins may not be venoms. If your working with these things they're a mile apart in meaning. If you're the kind of person who doesn't give a toss, that's fine. But for those who want to learn, and refine their knowledge, you should give them the space to do so.

J
 
Slim you are contradicting yourself. The word venom has more to do with the method of delivery rather than the substance. You yourself said that all venoms are poisons therefore how can it be incorrect to describe a snake as poisonous. I agree that the term venomous is a better description to use, but poisonous is satisfactory and correct.

I should have just looked up poisonous before venomous
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Jamie, could you please elaborate a bit on the comment Adderboy has just quoted.
 
i think u just need to sort ur life out and get over it. if somthing that pointless gets under ur skin. u need to re think your love of herps and if your in it for the right reasons.
Not necessarily things get under people's skin for a reason. Take me for example I hate it when people say PIN number or ATM machine. Venomous sounds much more appropriate when talking about snakes and other organisms that have a specialised delivery system.

Put it this way would you say poisonous or venomous berries?
 
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berries don't contain a poison that is delivered via a sting or bite, snakes do, so the berry argument is void. Plenty of people say snakes are poisonous and are correct in doing so. Why would anyone refer to a berry as venomous?
 
Venom is a subset or group within the overarching category of poison. As such you may refer to snakes being poisonous but you may not refer to oleander as venomous.

Thats it, no more discussion. Any abherence from this is wrong.

For the record, I keep venomous snakes and lock the poisons cabinet. Its neater that way.
 
Oops... YOU'RE sharp eyed there Adderboy!

Steve, you're wrong I'm sorry to say. The berries you mention are POISONOUS because if you eat them you die. Snakes are not POISONOUS because you can eat a VENOMOUS snake and not die, or suffer any ill effects at all. A snake is only POISONOUS if, when you eat it, it makes you sick because of the toxins in its tissue. You can drink a cup of Inland Taipan VENOM and not be POISONED! (although you'd be silly if you did, it's worth far more than gold as dry weight...)
 
The argument is becoming trivial. "People" may say sakes are poisonous and get away with it. We, on the other hand should be using the correct terminology and in most cases we do.

I can be very poisonous when I got the s*&^%, the venom oozes out of me ... but I don't bite. :D
 
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lol Michael this is exactly why it annoys me. People on here should know better. Of course everyone knows what you're talking about when you talk about a "poisonous" snake but that's not the point
 
berries don't contain a poison that is delivered via a sting or bite, snakes do, so the berry argument is void. Plenty of people say snakes are poisonous and are correct in doing so. Why would anyone refer to a berry as venomous?
And vise-versa with snakes.
 
I think its pretty simple my self.
Toxin - any substance that can cause harm
Poison - a toxin that causes its effect through ingestion or absorption
Venom - a toxin that causes its effect through administration via a specialized delivery system.

Example! Tetrodotoxin is a toxin that can be a poison or venom. It is a poison in puffer fish, causing its effect when tissues from this fish are eaten. It is venom in the blue-ringed octopus, being stored in salivary glands and delivered into a wound caused by the beak of the octopus.
Thus, snakes are venomous since the toxin is delivered via specialized apparatus while poison arrow frogs are poisonous since the toxin is absorbed.

and i agree with Michael, that people don't need to get "upset" when some one confuses the two but we on the forum should be encouraging others to use the correct meaning in the correct instance.

and to more directly answer the opening post question, i Personally don't get up set but if i can be bothered i will explain the difference between the 2.
 
Oops... YOU'RE sharp eyed there Adderboy!

Steve, you're wrong I'm sorry to say. The berries you mention are POISONOUS because if you eat them you die. Snakes are not POISONOUS because you can eat a VENOMOUS snake and not die, or suffer any ill effects at all. A snake is only POISONOUS if, when you eat it, it makes you sick because of the toxins in its tissue. You can drink a cup of Inland Taipan VENOM and not be POISONED! (although you'd be silly if you did, it's worth far more than gold as dry weight...)

No need to be sorry. But I believe and have supplied dictionary definitions to back it up, that snakes are still poisonous. You can eat snakes because the delivery method of snake venom/poison differs from that of the absorption method that plants have developed. I say snakes are venomous because it is an accurate term that describes a poisonous animal that injects a poisonous/venomous substance via an advanced delivery system.
Yes it is very trivial, but it is not about getting away with anything, some people usually through lack of understanding use a less descriptive term, though not an incorrect one.
No Dannyboi it is not vice versa with snakes. go back through the thread and read the dictionary definitions I have provided.
LAT venenum, poison
 
I meant saying a berry was venomous is not right and saying a snake is poisonous isn't wither perhaps I should have worded that differently.
 
LOL thats the problem the berry isn't venomous, however the snake is poisonous. No viceversa. It may be descriptively inaccurate but not incorrect.
 
The snakes venom is poisonous the snake can be eaten. You know what this argument seems like it could go on for a while I will just step back.
 
Slim you are contradicting yourself. The word venom has more to do with the method of delivery rather than the substance. You yourself said that all venoms are poisons therefore how can it be incorrect to describe a snake as poisonous. I agree that the term venomous is a better description to use, but poisonous is satisfactory and correct.

I should have just looked up poisonous before venomous
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No contradiction at all... but perhaps clarity of meaning is deceiving or slightly more subtle....

The word venom would indicate the type of poison and in some instances the way it is introduced to the body. For example a snake bite, a jellyfish stings, a wasp or bee stings - all these are venomous.

As for poisons... Directly eating a toad, eating poorly made fugu (puffer fish is it?), or eating poisonous mushrooms - no mushrooms are venomous however. Nor are puffer fish venomous, and nor are toads... But all are poisonous.

RBBS are not poisonous, they're venomous... Surely you can tell the difference now???

Box jellyfish are venomous - however, the stings can be introduced internally, therefore making them impossible to eat for humans, but funny enough, not for some sea turtles!

No contradictions, merely facts...
 
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