# Komodo Dragon venom lowers blood pressure?



## Darlyn (May 5, 2011)

Blood pressure help may lie with dragon venom - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Interesting research.


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## Thyla (May 5, 2011)

I wish researchers would watch what they say a little more.



> "Since we already have the sequences and we already have the venoms, we don't need to worry about the wild populations," he said.



Just sends the wrong message in my opinion.

Very cool nonetheless


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## craig.a.c (May 5, 2011)

Komodo dragons don't have venom though. It's the bacteria in their saliva that does all the damage, isn't it?


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## RamsMice (May 5, 2011)

Yer I pretty sure it is the bacteria in their salvia not venom. How cool would it be to own a Komodo dragon though, until it bites you lol


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## jeremy_88 (May 5, 2011)

craig.a.c said:


> Komodo dragons don't have venom though. It's the bacteria in their saliva that does all the damage, isn't it?



Komodo's and other monitors have a venom gland in the lower jaw but have no way of using it (no venom ducts etc). This has nothing to do with what you are talking about.


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## snakehandler (May 5, 2011)

I was present at the venom extraction in a Komodo dragon last year, we were filming it for an upcoming BBC doco, dragons bite. I have also personally seen the effect on blood (for the same doco). The whole bacteria thing is long gone....papers have been published in this for years, go to venomdoc.com and read for yourself!


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## Thyla (May 5, 2011)

They do in fact have a method of delivery.



> ...the researchers found that the lizards actually have the most complex venom-delivery system known in reptiles, which had been overlooked because the animal's teeth are so different than those of most venomous creatures.
> 
> The dragons produce toxic proteins—not unlike those of gila monsters and some snakes—that cause a drop in blood pressure and decreased clotting. Specialized ducts move the venom from five separate small compartments to openings between serrated teeth. After venom enters a substantial wound, victims can go into shock and bleed to death.



Source


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## cement (May 5, 2011)

Yep, venom...along with lacies, and bearded dragons.


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## jeremy_88 (May 5, 2011)

Thyla said:


> They do in fact have a method of delivery.
> 
> 
> 
> Source


 
I'd heard of possible anticoagulant properties in the bites of monitors and other reptiles but nothing that was proven but that was some time ago, interesting stuff time to get reading again


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## moosenoose (May 5, 2011)

Makes you really glad there is a genius/nutcase like Dr Fry out there!  You need to be both to be able to get to the bottom of this...and he's done exactly that!


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## Darlyn (May 5, 2011)

Thyla said:


> I wish researchers would watch what they say a little more.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
I think he is saying they don't need to harvest from wild populations, but it gives us reasons to protect them.


Since we already have the sequences and we already have the venoms, we don't need to worry about the wild populations," he said.
"Rather we are using this information to try to bolster conservation efforts of showing why we need to protect these magnificent creatures.


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## kawasakirider (May 6, 2011)

cement said:


> Yep, venom...along with lacies, and bearded dragons.


 
How dangerous is Beardie venom? I had no idea... I've picked up a few in my yard.


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## $NaKe PiMp (May 6, 2011)

kawasakirider said:


> How dangerous is Beardie venom? I had no idea... I've picked up a few in my yard.


 
hahaha its soooooooo deadly,go to venomdoc and all will be revealed


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## Bez84 (May 6, 2011)

Very dangerous is the number one cause of gulliblitis, which you may not of heard of but is surprisingly common ive found...


kawasakirider said:


> How dangerous is Beardie venom? I had no idea... I've picked up a few in my yard.


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## sookie (May 6, 2011)

Hahahahahahahaha......you guys...hahahhahaahh.......for a quick minute you almost had me going,beardies bite poisonious.so i am raising my own unholy army of evil in the night with my beardies?soon my pretties....(cackles insanely)


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## kawasakirider (May 6, 2011)

Bez84 said:


> Very dangerous is the number one cause of gulliblitis, which you may not of heard of but is surprisingly common ive found...


 
Lmao. I walked right into that one.


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## snakehandler (May 6, 2011)

On the island where we were shooting, Bryan, Iwan and myself getting up close with a wild Komodo, the mud you see on his front claws is from the water hole that is believed to be responsible for the high bacteria count and massive infections noticed.
I have .nef files of the venom extraction, I just haven't had the chance to reduce them yet! There are pictures of this trip on our Facebook fan page.....we saw a lot of young ones, but the first photo is one that lived around the rangers huts, he was very hungry (it was the end of the dry season and he hadn't eaten in a while.....hence the very cautious approach and constant watching of him). The others around the waterhole were very fat and healthy......This Island is by far the best of the three to go to if you want to see Komodo's in their natural habitat, guided tours take you around, I would suggest being smart and dressing appropriately there are vipers and cobra's in the area too. As mentioned earlier there is a great company based out of Flores Dive Komodo which is run by an Aussie, they can make all sorts of things happen for you!! The venom extraction was done on Monty, a captive Komodo on Bali at the Reptile park there, again highly recommended, its called the Bali Reptile Park and is beside the Bali Bird Park. Monty is a very freindly little guy who is very cuddly!


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## eitak (May 6, 2011)

Bez84 said:


> Very dangerous is the number one cause of gulliblitis, which you may not of heard of but is surprisingly common ive found...


 
Haha i was just about to google gulliblitis, then I realised . . .


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## moosenoose (May 6, 2011)

sookie said:


> Hahahahahahahaha......you guys...hahahhahaahh.......for a quick minute you almost had me going,beardies bite poisonious.so i am raising my own unholy army of evil in the night with my beardies?soon my pretties....(cackles insanely)


 
Beardies do have venom, and delivered much the same as a Komodo would, just it is milder and smaller in its proportions  So I think you can still raise your army :lol: Ever get that tingly feeling after being bitten by a beardie? I know I have. Supposedly it's just a mildly modified toxic saliva. I remember Fry (correct me if I'm wrong) saying they'd found the same 3 finger toxins in bearded dragon glands that are also found in death adders.


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## moosenoose (May 6, 2011)

I can't find the reference, perhaps its in here (I hate reading lol)

Early evolution of the venom system in lizards and snakes (Nicolas Vidal) - Academia.edu


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## snakehandler (May 6, 2011)

http://venomdoc.com/venomdoc/Scientific_publications_files/2009_Fry_Komodo_Megalania(2).pdf
http://venomdoc.com/venomdoc/Scientific_publications_files/2006_BGF_Nature_squamate_venom.pdf

These are two papers of interest!


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## mmafan555 (May 6, 2011)

snakehandler said:


> View attachment 198839
> View attachment 198838
> 
> 
> This Island is by far the best of the three to go to if you want to see Komodo's in their natural habitat, guided tours take you around, !



Which Island?

Also did you take malaria pills when you went? Thanks...I am planning a trip and I am not sure whether Rinca or Komodo Island would be a better place to see big komodos..Any help would be appreciated.


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## jeremy_88 (May 6, 2011)

He said Flores..... It's something I've wanted to do for a while, are these the guys you talking about snakehandler? DIVE KOMODO. Liveaboards and Day Dive Centre in Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia.


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## snakehandler (May 6, 2011)

We landed in Flores and then Dive Komodo took us out to Rinca, we lived aboard for the whole trip....it was great....Flores and Komodo are over commercialized and you don't get to really appreciate the animals for what they are. Rinca is a very primitive setup, due to it being the dry season we didn't worry about malaria, but had to think about other mosquito born problems, so plenty of repellant was used. I dont suggest staying on the Island, you need to supply your own food and a cook, you cannot cook for yourself from what I understand....if you go to my Facebook page you will see a rat running on a window...that's the kitchen window. The link you have jeremy_88 is spot on.


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## longqi (May 6, 2011)

Rinca is the best if you dont mind roughing it a bit but be careful
Komodo has by far the biggest dragons though
If you get away from the crowds with a native guide Komodo is the ducks nuts
I say that everyone should use a guide because 
1] they are cheap
2] komodos can kill you if you get just slightly complacent

Dont worry too much about malaria just cover up at sunset sunrise
Dengue fever is the bad one because they bite in daylight


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## longqi (May 6, 2011)

If you have ever eaten sate in asia you have probably eaten rat
so dont sweat the small stuff


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## mmafan555 (May 7, 2011)

longqi said:


> Komodo has by far the biggest dragons though
> If you get away from the crowds with a native guide Komodo is the ducks nuts
> I say that everyone should use a guide because
> 1] they are cheap
> 2] komodos can kill you if you get just slightly complacent



Yeah I have read a study where they darted and weighed dragons on the various islands and the largest dragons were on Komodo.( including one that was 185lbs!) so I think I would go to Komodo Island if I had the chance.

Rinca has the 2nd biggest dragons( after Komodo)... I don't remember if Flores was included in the study




longqi said:


> Dont worry too much about malaria just cover up at sunset sunrise
> Dengue fever is the bad one because they bite in daylight



I have had Dengue before and Malaria. Their are 4 types of malaria that infect humans. 3 of the types are about equal in severity as dengue.. The 4th type Plasmodium Falciparum through is more life threatening than dengue and the other 3 malaria types and chances are you WILL die if you don't get treatment

I had vivax malaria which sucks big time but generally isn't life threatening and I had dengue awhile back aswell which was terrible.

Generally Plasmodium Vivax, Ovale and Malariae tend to be more common in Asia and South America, while the more lethal Plasmodium Falciparum is much more common in Africa( hence why 90 percent of Malaria deaths are in Africa)... 

Dengue was more painful and makes your body ache like hell. The Vivax malaria that I had was more draining and makes you more tired dehydrated and lose a **** ton of weight. Never had Falciparum malaria luckily


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