Which Snake is the Most Toxic to You?
Venom toxicity is calculated using two factors: its LD50 and its venom yield per bite. LD50 is defined as the lethal dose in mg for 50% of a population of 20g white mice. The following is a chart of a variety of poisonous snakes. Please calculate the snake that has potential to be the most lethal to you. To do this: 1) Calculate your body mass in Kg (1 lb = 0.4535924 Kg); 2) Pick the type of injection (subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous, or peritoneal) that is the most lethal (smallest number); 3) Pick the maximum yield (we are calculating the max potential); 4) divide max yield by the most lethal injection ld50 to get the max possible ld50's delivered; and 5) divide the max ld50 yield by your mass to calculate the # of ld50's delivered for a person of your mass.
| Common name |
Sub- cutaneous mg/kg |
Intra- muscular mg/kg |
Intra- venous mg/kg |
Intra- peritoneal mg/kg | Venom Yield mg | Max ld50 | Your Mass kg | # LD50's delivered for a person of your mass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common death adder | 0.5 | 0.25 | 70.0-236.0 | |||||
| Southern copperhead | 25.6 | 10.9 | 10.9 | 40.0-75.0 | ||||
| Cottomouth/ Water moccasin | 25.8 | 4 | 5.1 | 80.0-170.0 | ||||
| Dubois's sea snake | 0.044 | 0.07 | ||||||
| Olive sea snake | 0.264 | 0.09 | 10.0-33.0 | |||||
| Puff adder | 2 | 1.32 | 100.0-350.0 | |||||
| Gaboon viper | 12.5 | 5.2 | 6.722 | 1.589 | 450.0-600.0 | |||
| Indian krait | 0.365 | 0.169 | 0.089 | 8.0-20.0 | ||||
|
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake |
14.6 | 1.65 | 2.295 | 200.0-850.0 | ||||
|
Western diamondback rattlesnake |
18.5 | 20 | 2.72 | 5.588 | 175.0-600.0 | |||
| Sidewinder | 4 | 18.0-50.0 | ||||||
| Timber rattlesnake | 3.1 | 2.107 | 2.272 | 75.0-210.0 | ||||
| Mojave green rattlesnake | 0.189 | 0.159 | 50.0-150 | |||||
| Prarie rattlesnake | 1.01 | 2 | 35.0-250.0 | |||||
| Black mamba | 0.32 | 0.25 | 0.941 | 50.0-120.0 | ||||
| Boomslang | 0.72 | 1.6-8.0 | ||||||
| Beaked sea snake | 0.1125 | 0.26 | 0.107 | 7.7-9.0 | ||||
| Annulated sea snake | 0.464 | 0.456 | 0.24 | 5.0-8.0 | ||||
| Elegant sea snake | 0.26 | 0.21 | 9.0-24.0 | |||||
| Bushmaster | 36.9 | 4.51 | 6.17 | 200.0-500.0 | ||||
| coral snake sp. | 1.3 | 0.3 | 3.0-5.0 | |||||
| Black banded coral snake | 0.394 | 0.701 | 5.0-8.0 | |||||
| Egyptian cobra | 1.15 | 0.96 | 0.185 | 175.0-300.0 | ||||
| Forest cobra | 0.6 | 0.324 | 500 | |||||
| Mainland tiger snake | 0.214 | 0.04 | 35.0-189.0 | |||||
| King cobra | 1.7 | 1.31 | 1.644 | 350.0-500.0 | ||||
| Inland taipan | 0.025 | 44.0-110.0 | ||||||
| Coastal taipan | 0.106 | 0.013 | 0.009 | 120.0-400.0 | ||||
| Yellow bellied sea snake | 0.067 | 0.22 | 1.0-4.0 | |||||
| Asp viper | 4.7 | 1 | 9.0-10.0 |
Venom Chart Information from http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/net12980/ld50tot.html
Please list the top 5 most poisonous snakes to you:
| rank | Name of Snake | # of LD50's capable of delivering to you |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 |