# Safe for pets, deadly for humans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 17, 2018, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251 "2018-12-17T06:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/41 "2018-12-18T23:38:19Z")
Chicken are known to eat millipedes, centipedes, snakes, scorpions, toads etc. many of them are deadly for humans. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/42 "2018-12-18T23:45:52Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Chicken are known to eat millipedes, centipedes, snakes, scorpions, toads etc. many of them are > deadly for humans. Isn’t it true, though, that things like snake/centipede/spider/scorpion venom are only dangerous to humans if injected directly into the bloodstream, and that if they are ingested, the stomach acids render them harmless? In fact, I think there are people in Haiti who rub scorpion venom onto the skin as a form of medicine; supposedly helps the immune system or whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/43 "2018-12-19T02:55:01Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Isn’t it true, though, that things like snake/centipede/spider/scorpion venom are only dangerous to humans if injected directly into the bloodstream, and that if they are ingested, the stomach acids render them harmless? Mostly, yes. Millipedes and amphibians, on the other hand, tend to stick to poisons rather than [venoms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom) (as do some insects, like the Spanish fly!) ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/44 "2018-12-19T03:58:09Z")
A survival tip is watch and eat which fruits, particularly berries animals, particularly mammals eat. In general, they’re likely safe to eat. However, you should always eat one or two at first and wait to see if it upsets your system before chowing down. ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/45 "2018-12-19T04:07:20Z")
In my area, we have box turtles. I enjoy turtle soup (the only good reason snapping turtles should exist), but word on he street is that thou shall not eat box turtles. It seems that there are poisonous (to humans) mushrooms that box turtles can eat with no ill effects, which answers the OP, but the toxins stay in the turtles muscle tissue. The result is that you can safely eat 9 out of 10, but 1 out of 10 will kill you. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/46 "2018-12-19T04:24:55Z")
Amanita muscaria is supposedly toxic to humans, but caribou/reindeer can eat it fine. Then their urine passes on the psychoactive fun to humans, if you can stomach it. In reality it appears that it is mildly toxic to humans, a bit of boiling and discarding of the water makes it edible. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/47 "2018-12-19T04:50:07Z")
I was going to say that Toyon berries are toxic to humans, but birds eat them all the time and the seeds end up in their poop, scattered & fertilized at the same time. Then I checked and found that they’re edible if you cook them first, and we eat other stuff that has to be cooked first, so I guess it doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/48 "2018-12-19T05:45:03Z")
There are a of foods that become less or non-toxic to humans when cooked. While it won’t kill you, eating a raw potato probably won’t agree with the tummies of those not used to to. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/49 "2018-12-19T19:02:21Z")
We might also mention “mad” or toxic honey. There are some plants that are toxic to humans, but don’t bother bees who collect nectar from them. Rhododendron, again, and related plants: > **[Grayanotoxin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayanotoxin)** > > Grayanotoxins are a group of closely related neurotoxins named after Leucothoe grayana, a plant native to Japan originally named for 19th century American botanist Asa Gray. Grayanotoxin I (grayanotaxane-3,5,6,10,14,16-hexol 14-acetate) is also known as andromedotoxin, acetylandromedol, rhodotoxin and asebotoxin. Grayanotoxins are produced by Rhododendron species and other plants in the family Ericaceae. Honey made from the nectar and so containing pollen of these plants also contains graya Graya... The currently fashionable and expensive manuka honey from New Zealand is also susceptible to winding up toxic if the bees find too many tutu shrubs instead of manuka trees. Unfortunately, these tend to grow in the same areas as the manuka tree, and you can’t exactly train the bees to stay away from them. Currently, New Zealand requires that all honey for export be tested for tutin. (This was a plot point in an episode of the NZ TV series “Brokenwood”, BTW) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/50 "2018-12-19T21:24:36Z")
[This page](https://poisonousplants.ansci.cornell.edu/yew.html) claims that “white-tail deer and certain seed eating birds” have some immunity to yew. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/51 "2018-12-20T03:05:35Z")
> [@brossa](#): > > Humans and guinea pigs are the only animals that I can find that display the allergic hypersensitivity to urushiol, the irritant in poison oak, poison sumac, and poison ivy. We’re also the only animals that must get vitamin C externally (vs making our own). I wonder if there’s a connection… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/52 "2018-12-20T04:08:23Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > We’re also the only animals that must get vitamin C externally (vs making our own). I wonder if there’s a connection… [That’s a common myth](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3145266/). ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/53 "2018-12-20T09:14:31Z")
[quote=“nearwildheaven, post:21, topic:826251”] Not only can camels go a long time without drinking water, they too can eat things people can’t. Small wonder this video has had 8 million views. [/QUOTE] Heh. [This guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4KPWOUkbw8&has_verified=1) gave it a shot! ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/54 "2018-12-20T14:19:08Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > The currently fashionable and expensive manuka honey from New Zealand is also susceptible to winding up toxic if the bees find too many tutu shrubs instead of manuka trees. Unfortunately, these tend to grow in the same areas as the manuka tree, and you can’t exactly train the bees to stay away from them. Currently, New Zealand requires that all honey for export be tested for tutin. I saw some Manuka honey just yesterday on CostCo and I wondered what the hell it was. I guess I’m behind the curve. > [@pkbites](#): > > Heh. [This guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4KPWOUkbw8&has_verified=1) gave it a shot! I dunno, man. I’m no expert on cactus-eating (although I’ve noshed [nopales](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nopal)) but the warning at the beginning of the video says cactus it not poisonous but despite the myth that you can stave off thirst by lopping the top off of a barrel cactus and squeezing the liquid from the pulp, the stuff tastes bitter. That to me says alkaloids which can be very bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/55 "2018-12-20T15:53:40Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I saw some Manuka honey just yesterday on CostCo and I wondered what the hell it was. A “superfood”. I.e. a scam. Like the taste? Great. But it’s not gonna cure cancer. Apparently it’s sometimes counterfeit, though I think Costco is probably one of the more trustworthy sources. > [@](#): > > I dunno, man. I’m no expert on cactus-eating (although I’ve noshed [nopales](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nopal)) but the warning at the beginning of the video says cactus it not poisonous but despite the myth that you can stave off thirst by lopping the top off of a barrel cactus and squeezing the liquid from the pulp, the stuff tastes bitter. That to me says alkaloids which can be very bad for you. You can with some cactus, like barrel cactus. And prickly pear is eaten commonly, both the fruit and pads (nopal). ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/56 "2018-12-20T16:13:57Z")
Dragonfruit are also a cactus product, specifically, the fruit of one. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/57 "2018-12-20T23:29:01Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > A “superfood”. I.e. a scam. Like the taste? Great. But it’s not gonna cure cancer. Apparently it’s sometimes counterfeit, though I think Costco is probably one of the more trustworthy sources. … Look at it this way - if it’s counterfeit, at least it’s probably not actually from New Zealand, and won’t be contaminated with the toxin from the shrub. Which is potent enough that there have been a few deaths from eating tutin contaminated honey, not just illness. Hence, the testing requirement by the NZ government. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/58 "2018-12-21T01:21:47Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > A “superfood”. I.e. a scam. Like the taste? Great. But it’s not gonna cure cancer. Apparently it’s sometimes counterfeit, though I think Costco is probably one of the more trustworthy sources. > **[Manuka Honey: Medicinal Uses, Benefits, and Side Effects](https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/manuka-honey-medicinal-uses#3)** > > Manuka honey from New Zealand is touted as having antibacterial properties. We discuss the possible medicinal uses of manuka honey. Well, honey can be used on certain wounds to heal. And perhaps, _maybe_ Manuka honey might be better. A couple of small studies have apparently given promising results, but others- not so much. So, I guess if you have a foot ulcer, and it’s not healing, go ahead and consult your MD and maybe give it a try. Medical grade, not what you put in your rea. One benefit is that of course it wont lead to resistant bacteria. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/59 "2018-12-21T12:52:07Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > You can with some cactus, like barrel cactus. And prickly pear is eaten commonly, both the fruit and pads (nopal). As I said, I’ve eaten nopales, both pickled and raw, and it was not noticeably bitter. Barrel cactus, OTOH, is the poster child for both the “drink a cactus” meme, presumably because it is easier to lop the top off of one than a saguaro’s, and the “it’s all [bullshit](https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2013/06/05/cactus-water-will-make-you-sick/)” meme. > [@](#): > > What about Prickly Pear pads we sometimes see in grocery stories or on the menu of Mexican restaurants? What you see are generally young spring pads which naturally contain less oxalic acid. Cooking leaches out the acid. In an emergency you can eat the young pads raw. And there are some spineless cultivars that naturally contain little oxalic acid which can also be eaten raw. These were developed mainly as cattle feed. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251/60 "2018-12-21T13:46:28Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > We might also mention “mad” or toxic honey. There are some plants that are toxic to humans, but don’t bother bees who collect nectar from them. Rhododendron, again, and related plants: > > [Grayanotoxin - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayanotoxin) There’s quite a bit of evidence that it will poison some bees as well- bees from the local area where the plants are native are fine with it, as are some bumble bee species, but there’s a lot of introduced Rhododendron in the UK and when experimentally fed the nectar, European honeybees [die](https://www.kew.org/blogs/kew-science/hidden-poisons-rhododendron-nectar). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-for-pets-deadly-for-humans/826251.md?page=4)