# Why do most poisonous animals tend to be cold-blooded? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2004, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-poisonous-animals-tend-to-be-cold-blooded/264212 "2004-09-13T03:40:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-poisonous-animals-tend-to-be-cold-blooded/264212/61 "2004-09-16T10:21:49Z")
Yes OK Desmostylus, thank you for taking such a long-winded and unecessarilly confusing way of pointing out a typo. “prey’ in that sentence should of course be ‘predators.’ You could have saved us all a lot of time by simply pointing out in 5 words that there appeared to be a typo. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-poisonous-animals-tend-to-be-cold-blooded/264212/62 "2004-09-16T11:15:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Defense - Snake venom can serve the following roles: > · Predator recognition that the snake is dangerous > · Termination of encounter after painful envenomation [http://www.llu.edu/llu/grad/natsci/hayes/research-c-venom/](http://www.llu.edu/llu/grad/natsci/hayes/research-c-venom/) > [@](#): > > Most venoms and their delivery systems function primarily to subdue prey, but they are also useful in defense (as in rattlesnakes, spiders, scorpions, and spider wasps). ag.arizona.edu/urbanipm/firstaid/answers.html > [@](#): > > The cottonmouth is one of several species of venomous (poisonous) snakes in the United Sates. Although they use their venom primarily to obtain food, it also serves as an important defensive weapon. www.cs.utexas.edu/ftp/pub/inderjit/Data/ Text/NSFAll/FullDocs/awards\_1992/awd\_1992\_13/a9213870.txt It seems like an awful lot of authorities believe that snake venom serves a defensive purpose. Isla do you actually have even one reference that says it doesn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-poisonous-animals-tend-to-be-cold-blooded/264212/63 "2004-09-16T12:31:35Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Yes OK Desmostylus, thank you for taking such a long-winded and unecessarilly confusing way of pointing out a typo. “prey’ in that sentence should of course be ‘predators.’ > > You could have saved us all a lot of time by simply pointing out in 5 words that there appeared to be a typo. Um, no, I don’t think so. I’m still having trouble working out what the hell you’re arguing in this thread. Let’s do a quick recap: > [@Blake](#): > > In fact all the most toxic snakes in the world are camouflaged and are regularly prey for the local predators, which in itself shows that **being venomous is of little protective value**. > [@Blake](#): > > It seems like **an awful lot of authorities believe that snake venom serves a defensive purpose.** > > Isla do you actually have even one reference that says it doesn’t? So again, what’s the story? Was the first post a typo? Did you once again mean the exact opposite of what you actually typed? If so, which of your posts represents what you believe to be true? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-poisonous-animals-tend-to-be-cold-blooded/264212/64 "2004-09-17T00:13:09Z")
[Moderator **TIME OUT**] **Demostylus, Blake, and anyone else** who thinks you can get personal in GQ. You can’t. You won’t. Tone it down NOW! **samclem**. GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![Daylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@Daylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylon)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-poisonous-animals-tend-to-be-cold-blooded/264212/65 "2004-09-18T10:54:00Z")
I would say because: 1. Warm blooded mammals don’t need to poison you, they just jump on you and eat you 2. Cold blooded mammals can’t chase you down or sprint after you, so they poison you and wait for you to die. Just my two cents… D. ---
**Author:** ![six\_personalities](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@six\_personalities](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/six_personalities)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-poisonous-animals-tend-to-be-cold-blooded/264212/66 "2004-09-18T12:10:40Z")
> [@Daylon](#): > > I would say because: > > 1. Warm blooded mammals don’t need to poison you, they just jump on you and eat you > > 2. Cold blooded mammals can’t chase you down or sprint after you, so they poison you and wait for you to die. > > Just my two cents… > D. I must be warmblooded.That’s how I catch my prey…er how I greet females I like… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-poisonous-animals-tend-to-be-cold-blooded/264212.md?page=3)