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Bite put me in the ER - Questions

crotalusadamanteus said:
BTW.......Did that prehensile tailed skink get a good latch on you? LOL I got bit by one a few years back. He got my pinky while changing water. He lunged from under his hide so quick, I could not even react. Jaws like a freakin pit bull. He held on for like 5 minutes, just crushing, and chomping, then a good shake, and when the skin peeled off, he was happy and let go. Actually the worst lizard bite I've ever had. Hurt like the dickens.


Ciao,
Rick
Click to expand...

well, it surprised me more than anything. It was during one of our reptile shows, and for those of you not familiar with the species, let me point something out. They have long nails that are VERY sharp, and they're pretty strong. They tend to want to climb, so if you try to hold them in your hand you've got two options: LET them climb, or get ripped up by the nails. What I usually did was let them climb up to around my shoulder and then move them back to my hand to start all over again while I was talking. We have 4 that we use for shows (only one at a time though), and none of them have a particularly bad temper once they're out of the exhibit (and even while they're in, only one is aggressive sometimes). This day though, when I reached up to take him off of my upper arm, I must have spooked him because he bit my ear...lol. I'm glad he didn't hang on, and it didn't hurt at all actually which surprised me - just bled a little bit and then was itchy a couple of days later like most cuts are.

Also, Coyote, I think I posted it earlier in this thread, but I found some info about the relationship between the two families of lizards and you're right...they're distantly related, but not the same anymore.
 
YJHB said:
Oh, for god's sake this started off as an old thread...
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lol..yeah this was an old one. I got rid of the monitor about a week after this all happened. And I see you're from Wexford - do you know Brad McCarthy of Butler? He's pretty well-known around the area from what I understand because he sells a lot of hots. I'm from Kittanning originally, and a couple of people mentioned his name to me, so he ended up taking the monitor and I got a 4 year old female BCI off of him.
 
aw, no I don't! Don't know much of anyone around here that shares my interest in herps..

EXCEPT Stef, who I met right here in Fauna just a few weeks ago!!!
 
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Matt Haines said:
As far as I know Pogonas are considered Agamidae.
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Yes, this is my understanding. Has been my understanding. The article says that Bearded Dragons are Iguania.

Agamids are Old World lizards and Iguanids are New World lizards.
Agamids fill the same niches in the Old World as Iguanids fill in the New World. So I figure the families must have branched off from each other a long time ago and Agamid lizards taxanomically aren't Iguania. So either I need to brush up on my taxonomy or this statement is incorrect.

The only reason I bring it up is because I have a tendency to nitpick (read: be anal about) certain details. And, I like to be correct. So, I am hoping that if my understanding is deficient someone who knows can correct it for me.
 
well I don't own large repts but i do know that savs have bacteria in there mouths just like komodo dragons just you won't die if the small savs bites you.. If it was me i take my sav into the vet (if you have one or even ur zoo could help) have them swab the savs mouth... Test the sample you just might had a lerject reaction to it's self defence spit like a cat scratch it could get infected, but also remember the savs are wild rept and in adaptation through species thy have nasty saliva. i hope that help good luck
 
Not only these few lizards, but anoles, and all snakes. That is the claim they are making. I have read in one of the journals that all snakes have venom, don't ask me what journal, I have since looked and cannot find the statment again in them.
 
Wow! Interesting thread. I'm gonna have to say "you learn something new everyday" again. :)
 
The fact that it is an old thread doesn't mean that some people might not find it interesting...the comments would seem to indicate they do.
Thanks for doing your part to keep it on top, Dustin
 
An herbivore would not need venom to kill prey, it could of retained it from previous ancestry, hence the reduced toxicity.....talking Iguanidae here.

Yeah Beardies are Agamadae, I dont see why they have thme listed other wise. But it seems Pogona barbata has been found to have some venom,as have monitors,and Iguanidae.

See the section.....its wikipedia but here it is...

Venom and bacteria in the Komodo dragon and other monitors.

Komodo dragons have recently been discovered to produce a venom. In late 2005, University of Melbourne researchers discovered that Perenties (Varanus giganteus), other monitors and Iguanians may be somewhat venomous. Previously, it had been thought that bites inflicted by these lizards were simply prone to infection because of bacteria in the lizards' mouths, but these researchers have shown that the immediate effects are caused by mild envenomation. Bites on human digits by a Lace Monitor (Varanus varius), a Komodo dragon and a Spotted Tree Monitor (V. scalaris) have been observed and all produced similar results in humans: rapid swelling within minutes, localized disruption of blood clotting, shooting pain up to the elbow, with some symptoms lasting for several hours.

In addition to the venom, dragons also possess virulent bacteria in their saliva, of which more than 28 Gram-negative and 29 Gram-positive strains have been isolated.[25] These bacteria cause septicemia in their victim; if an initial bite does not kill the prey animal and it escapes, it will commonly succumb within a week to the resulting infection. The deadliest bacteria in Komodo dragon saliva appears to be a very deadly strain of Pasteurella multocida, from studies performed with lab mice.[26] Because the Komodo dragon appears immune to its own microbes, much research has been done searching for the antibacterial molecule in the hopes of human medicinal use.

Pogona barbata- Eastern Bearded dragon

Venom
In late 2005, University of Melbourne researchers discovered that Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis), Perenties (V. giganteus), other Monitors, Gila Monsters (Heloderma suspectum), Iguanians such as Pogona barbata and Beaded Lizards (Heloderma horridum) are somewhat venomous. Previously, it had been thought that bites inflicted by these lizards were simply prone to infection because of bacteria in the lizards' mouths, but these researchers have shown that the immediate effects (at least in the Komodo Dragon, Spotted Tree Monitor (Varanus scalaris) and the Lace Monitor) are caused by mild envenomation. The Eastern Bearded Dragon, "retains characteristics of the ancestral venom system, namely serial, lobular non-compound venom-secreting glands on both the upper and lower jaws .
 
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