- #5,356
DocToxyn
Science Advisor
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zoobyshoe said:Everyone around here from Joe on the street to the newscasters say the same thing: baby rattlesnakes give the worst bites. The older ones control how much venom they inject depending on the purpose of the bite. The babies inject all they have anytime they bite. Is this true? Only your herpetologist knows for sure.
I don't have any experience with venemous species, but I too have heard this rumor. My opinion leans more towards the opposite, so even if the baby delivers all its toxin, an adult can still deliver quite a bit more venom volume wise, if it chooses to, and thus is inherently more toxic. That said, it all really comes down to the toxicologist's creed "The dose makes the poison", if a baby or an adult delivers enough to kill you, that's all it takes. It always strikes me as funny when you hear someone say "It has enough venom to kill 20 men"...I don't care about those other 19 guys, how much does it take to kill just me!
Take a look at http://www.llu.edu/llumc/emergency/venom-er/strike.html from an expert in snake/human health issues if you don't buy my opinion, look right below his picture about 3/4 down the page.