FWIW, when I was more involved in herp circles, the distinction was useful because many amphibians are poisonous; i.e., they excrete a substance that is toxic when ingested by a predator. I know I know: reptiles v. amphibians, etc. But when you’re talking to people who may collect or breed such animals (“herps” includes both), such pedantry is inevitable. I was a buyer for a pet store at the time, an active member of a national herpetological society, a breeder of turtles and occasionally of frogs, and a volunteer in the reptile house of a major metropolitan zoo, where such distinctions are necessary.
I guess I have an anti-pedantry streak in me, or something. In common usage (that’s what we’re engaging in here, right?) I use poisonous and venomous interchangeably. Everyone knows what I mean, I’m pretty sure. Years ago, when I worked at a venom laboratory, in our conversations and in our catalog, we called the substance we extracted from snakes and lizards venom, and the substance we extracted from toads and frogs poison. We called the snakes we were dealing with “hot”. When I was involved in the snake-breeding business, it became a sign of hipness to refer to brumating snakes instead of hibernating them. I found that to be an annoying form of pedantry, so I just cooled my snakes.
A while back there was a GQ thread on this very subject; I’m pretty sure I chimed in with the distinction that lissener has espoused. But the subject of that discussion was the difference between the two words. Having grown up reading books by herpetologists who did not make the distinction, such as Leonhard Stejneger’s Poisonous Snakes of North America, the distinction is not prominent in my mind unless I’m thinking about the venom itself rather than the animal.
Sorry to have continued the hijack, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take part in a friendly discussion involving Colibri and lissener.
I agree. In my last couple places of residence we have had blacksnakes and we were glad to have them to keep the fruit rats and mice populations from exploding. In my current home I saw a black snake outside my garage door quite often. I made sure to check for him before letting my dog out because I didn’t want her to hurt the snake. Once he was in my garage and I shooed him out because I had some pet birds in there. Instead of killing the snake I moved the birds into the house which I was going to do anyway before the weather got hotter.
I haven’t seen the snake or snakes in a while and I also have had a mouse problem in my house, coincidence? I think not. I worried that one of my neighbors or their pets had killed my snake or my silly dog may have found it and tried to play with it but doubt she did because the one time she saw it in the grass it scared the crap out of her.
Don’t kill rodent eating snakes. They will not bite you unless you harass them. So how about teaching the kids to respect nature so they don’t get bit instead of preemptively killing it?
Some states have a less than enlightened view of the value of snakes. In Pennsylvania, non-endangered snakes can be killed in unlimited quantities, as long as you don’t use certain items. “It is unlawful to take, catch, or kill a reptile or amphibian through the use of firearms, chemicals, explosives, winches, jacks, or other devices.” Ripping the head off with your teeth or stomping it to death are okey dokey.Link. There are catch limits on a few species (including the two venomous species) , but black snakes appear to be fair game.
Sadly, no medal - like an idiot I didn’t go to a doctor. I just had a sclera that was half black for a week. It hit me open-mouthed and a few teeth went through my eyelid and penetrated the eyeball. Not very painful actually, but surprisingly messy.
My daughter keep a few varieties of rat snake and I have consequently been bitten a number of times.
It isn’t particularly pleasant and I expect that that is the intention but it isn’t that bad either and you very soon get over it.
I have been bitten more times by the mice bred to feed them and I’d say that was more painful than the snake bite.
The idiots wanting to kill them deserve a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
- like an idiot I didn’t go to a doctor. I just had a sclera that was half black for a week. It hit me open-mouthed and a few teeth went through my eyelid and penetrated the eyeball. Not very painful actually, but surprisingly messy.