Red Bellied Black V Brown.

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Seemed to work for me just then. Maybe try it again.
 
Very persistent Red Belly! Would the Brown have been able to actually inject any venom?
 
Very persistent Red Belly! Would the Brown have been able to actually inject any venom?
Hi Stompsy, very much so. The Brown would have been pumping venom in order not to be eaten. You can see in places in the video a residue left on the Red Belly after the Brown lets go, that is venom.

The Red Belly has evolved to prey on other reptiles and therefor has evolved a tolerance to the venom of the prey animals. There are many animals that have evolved this tolerance to toxins in order to eat organisms that would kill other predators.

A great example of this can be found in the Amazon. Trees have developed toxins in order to discourage ants from eating their leaves. The ants develop a resistance to the toxins over time and eat the leaves. A byproduct of the resistance is that the ants are now toxic themselves. The Arrow Frog that preys on the ants builds up a tolerance to the toxins of the ants over time and eventually becomes toxic themselves.

We live in a complex and fascinating world.
 
Thanks heaps for the response! I think my question was more relating to whether the Brown would be able to penetrate the red bellies scales, but awesome answer none the less!

Great video btw!
 
Sorry, I can get carried away at times.
Yes the Brown's teeth would be able to penetrate in between the Black's scales.
 
I'd like to see how that turned out. The brown looked like it was getting desperate and the red belly looked on top of things.
 
Red Belly Black Snakes and Pythons kill and eat Browns and other Venomous Snakes, in this case, the Brown would have lost out to the Red Belly Black. As mentioned, the Red Belly Black is immune to the Brown Snakes venom and I am led to believe that Pythons are the same. I have seen footage of a Python and a King Cobra fighting, the Cobra wasn't having a good day. Eventually the Cobra slipped the grip of the Python and bolted, the Python kept on it's way. Farmers out west like the Red Belly Black and Pythons because they kill Browns and Coppers etc which kill Live Stock, they regard them as friends.
 
This is some incredible footage... So, how does this unfold? I've always been aware the Red bellies eat brown snakes, if they're immune to each other's venom, is this just a pin and hold wrestling match until the brown tires and gives up?? Because from where the Black snake has a hold of the brown in this case, it's it no position to eat it... Does the black snake have to release to get a better vantage?? This looks like it could have played out for hours...
 
Red Belly Black Snakes and Pythons kill and eat Browns and other Venomous Snakes, in this case, the Brown would have lost out to the Red Belly Black. Farmers out west like the Red Belly Black and Pythons because they kill Browns and Coppers etc which kill Live Stock, they regard them as friends.

Hi Dustproof,

Womas and Black Headed Pythons are known to kill and eat vens but it's a bit of a fallacy that Carpets kill and eat Browns.

 
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I've seen both species consume the other, usually the larger on the smaller, but I've also know them to co-habit (as in, use the same hide site and bask together in a heap). I've also rescued a smaller RBB that was being attacked/ bitten by a larger RBB only to have the smaller one die overnight (while in rehab) and present like a smelly, swollen sausage, so I assumed the venom took effect in this case. I've had Tigers, Mulgas (also a black snake) and Eastern Browns in captivity bite each other by accident while feeding with little or no effect (occasionally localised swelling). There should be a post in the elapid thread of the co-habiting (for any doubters);)

Personally, I feel it's a fallacy to believe the old farmers addage, "If you have RBB's, you wont get Browns". Generally, they tend to utilise different habitats, RBB's generally prefer a local water source, texty's are more of a dryland species.
 
Personally, I feel it's a fallacy to believe the old farmers addage, "If you have RBB's, you wont get Browns". Generally, they tend to utilise different habitats, RBB's generally prefer a local water source, texty's are more of a dryland species.
I tend to put a little weight behind what they say. I have noticed it myself living on the Northern Gold Coast. Browns snakes are becoming more prevalent with more and more being caught every week. There is a population living on the Spit at Main Beach.
I believe this is related to the cane toad invasion placing massive strain on the Red-Belly population. Red-Bellies are born a few weeks before Browns hatch and predate on them heavily. Now that the Red-Belly population is in major decline due to eating toads, the Browns aren't getting knocked off as readily.
 
what snakes are consumed bhp ??? about woma do they properly consume poisonous snakes
 
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