Would you eat a dead snake or not eat at all for two weeks?

[killamch89]

I'm not going to eat a dead snake especially when I don't know what killed it and what kind of poison that snake had. I'm no expert at cooking snakes either so I've much rather go without food for the next two weeks. Do you agree with my choice?

[The Blackangel]

I've eaten snakes that I hunted before, including venomous snakes. I've always wanted to try diamondback though. Also after spending time roughing it, I know how to tell how old a carcass is and whether it's still safe to eat or not. So if it was still viable as food, I would eat it. If it was past the edible stage, then no.

[killamch89]

11 hours ago, The Blackangel said:

I've eaten snakes that I hunted before, including venomous snakes. I've always wanted to try diamondback though. Also after spending time roughing it, I know how to tell how old a carcass is and whether it's still safe to eat or not. So if it was still viable as food, I would eat it. If it was past the edible stage, then no.

And there's my issue - I have absolutely no knowledge of what is and isn't edible on a snake and it's not something that you can gamble with and getaway with minor issues.

[Crazycrab]

 

23 hours ago, killamch89 said:

I'm not going to eat a dead snake especially when I don't know what killed it and what kind of POISON that snake had. I'm no expert at cooking snakes either so I've much rather go without food for the next two weeks. Do you agree with my choice?

 

Some Snakes are VENOMOUS, but none of them are POISONOUS.  These are not the same thing and that's important for reasons I'll explain below.

 

12 hours ago, The Blackangel said:

I've eaten snakes that I hunted before, including venomous snakes. I've always wanted to try diamondback though. Also after spending time roughing it, I know how to tell how old a carcass is and whether it's still safe to eat or not. So if it was still viable as food, I would eat it. If it was past the edible stage, then no.

 

Obviously the meat from an animal can decompose or get filled with compounds like adrenaline to the point where it's not edible anymore.  I believe that's what you were getting at here.  But I think what @killamch89 was worried about is which parts of a snake contain Venom, but this is actually not relevant.  The difference between a Venom and a Poison is that a poison is effective when ingested, but a Venom is only effective if it directly enters the bloodstream.  As long as there were no open wounds on the inside of your mouth or oesophagus that the Venom could get into you can litteraly drink it and it would just urinate it back out.  Otherwise the snake could easily die by ingesting its own Venom.  So even the Venomous parts of snakes a safe to cook and eat.

[killamch89]

11 minutes ago, Crazycrab said:

Some Snakes are VENOMOUS, but none of them are POISONOUS.  These are not the same thing and that's important for reasons I'll explain below.

Obviously the meat from an animal can decompose or get filled with compounds like adrenaline to the point where it's not edible anymore.  I believe that's what you were getting at here.  But I think what @killamch89 was worried about is which parts of a snake contain Venom, but this is actually not relevant.  The difference between a Venom and a Poison is that a poison is effective when ingested, but a Venom is only effective if it directly enters the bloodstream.  As long as there were no open wounds on the inside of your mouth or oesophagus that the Venom could get into you can litteraly drink it and it would just urinate it back out.  Otherwise the snake could easily die by ingesting its own Venom.  So even the Venomous parts of snakes a safe to cook and eat.

It's not my fault I'm not a Snake Eater (MGS 3 reference/pun intended). I'm just not the type to eat any and every animal that may or may not be edible. I'd much rather let it get to live out its life than to satisfy a craving.

[Crazycrab]

14 minutes ago, killamch89 said:

It's not my fault I'm not a Snake Eater (MGS 3 reference/pun intended). I'm just not the type to eat any and every animal that may or may not be edible. I'd much rather let it get to live out its life than to satisfy a craving.

 

I see your point but I have to disagree.  After two weeks I'd probably eat my own arm, so I'd have no trouble eating a Snake!

 

Kudos on the MGS 3 reference by the way, one of my favourite games 😄!

Edited September 1, 2021 by Crazycrab

[killamch89]

Just now, Crazycrab said:

 

I see your point but I have to disagree.  After two weeks I'd probably eat my own arm, so I'd have no trouble eating a Snake!

 

Kudos on the MGS 3 by the way, one of my favourite games 😄!

Same here - I started replaying just last week. Some of the most innovative game mechanics of its time but just doesn't get the respect it deserves.

[The Blackangel]

11 hours ago, Crazycrab said:

Obviously the meat from an animal can decompose or get filled with compounds like adrenaline to the point where it's not edible anymore. I believe that's what you were getting at here. But I think what @killamch89 was worried about is which parts of a snake contain Venom, but this is actually not relevant. The difference between a Venom and a Poison is that a poison is effective when ingested, but a Venom is only effective if it directly enters the bloodstream. As long as there were no open wounds on the inside of your mouth or esophagus that the Venom could get into you can literally drink it and it would just urinate it back out. Otherwise the snake could easily die by ingesting its own Venom. So even the Venomous parts of snakes are safe to cook and eat.

That's not what I was getting at, at all. The part of a snake that holds the venom is a direct pocket (shown in the pic below) that is connected to the fangs. It's how they deliver the venom. It's not in any part of the meat. Snakes also can't die from their own venom. Their bodies naturally produce a unique antivenom that keeps from their own hurting them. Another snake of the same species, can kill them with its venom. But if a copperhead bites itself and injects venom into itself the venom will have no effect. While drinking venom is virtually harmless in tiny doses, as stomach acid completely neutralizes it, no sane person would attempt it.

Poison can be effective by more ways than ingestion. Poison is a toxin that gets into the body via swallowing, inhaling or absorption through the skin. Venom is a specialized type of poison that has evolved for a specific purpose. It is actively injected via a bite or sting. It's why a lot of people can be killed by one sting from a honeybee. It's not the piercing of skin that hurts, as their stinger is to small to even feel. It's the venom they inject that hurts.

 

But either way, poison or venom, if you don't know what you're doing, I recommend a lot of learning (years upon years worth) before you ever try any of this. Ignorance is one of the deadliest things in the world.

[The Blackangel]

[killamch89]

11 hours ago, The Blackangel said:

That's not what I was getting at, at all. The part of a snake that holds the venom is a direct pocket (shown in the pic below) that is connected to the fangs. It's how they deliver the venom. It's not in any part of the meat. Snakes also can't die from their own venom. Their bodies naturally produce a unique antivenom that keeps from their own hurting them. Another snake of the same species, can kill them with its venom. But if a copperhead bites itself and injects venom into itself the venom will have no effect. While drinking venom is virtually harmless in tiny doses, as stomach acid completely neutralizes it, no sane person would attempt it.

Poison can be effective by more ways than ingestion. Poison is a toxin that gets into the body via swallowing, inhaling or absorption through the skin. Venom is a specialized type of poison that has evolved for a specific purpose. It is actively injected via a bite or sting. It's why a lot of people can be killed by one sting from a honeybee. It's not the piercing of skin that hurts, as their stinger is to small to even feel. It's the venom they inject that hurts.

But either way, poison or venom, if you don't know what you're doing, I recommend a lot of learning (years upon years worth) before you ever try any of this. Ignorance is one of the deadliest things in the world.

Same reason I won't just eat random plants, berries or mushrooms I find in a forest because I have no idea of which ones are deadly and which are edible. It's something I'd have to take some time to learn.

[The Blackangel]

11 hours ago, killamch89 said:

Same reason I won't just eat random plants, berries or mushrooms I find in a forest because I have no idea of which ones are deadly and which are edible. It's something I'd have to take some time to learn.

I learned which plants are safe to eat as a kid, which includes mushrooms and berries. We have several kinds of safe, and absolutely delicious mushrooms here. We also have some mushrooms that will kill you in an hour. The hard part about all that is that there is an edible mushroom that has a lethal doppleganger. That one I always stayed away from, because I was never certain of whether I was getting the right one or not. I just couldn't tell them apart, so instead of chancing it I just decided to stick with the ones I knew and liked. The berries were a lot easier to keep straight.

[killamch89]

13 hours ago, The Blackangel said:

I learned which plants are safe to eat as a kid, which includes mushrooms and berries. We have several kinds of safe, and absolutely delicious mushrooms here. We also have some mushrooms that will kill you in an hour. The hard part about all that is that there is an edible mushroom that has a lethal doppleganger. That one I always stayed away from, because I was never certain of whether I was getting the right one or not. I just couldn't tell them apart, so instead of chancing it I just decided to stick with the ones I knew and liked. The berries were a lot easier to keep straight.

Makes sense - that's the same scenario that always crossed my mind. What if I found two identical plants but one's poisonous, how'd I ever know?