Users of social networks say that the iguana poison supposedly acts extremely slowly, so after the bite of the reptile follows its victim until her death is waiting. We decided to check whether such behavior is characteristic of these lizards.
Online Popular Such a story: “Iguan was presented for his birthday. I was delighted, played with her, fed, and then she grabbed my finger. I was offended, then I look: and she looks at me so devotedly and sadly, carries after me all over the house, looks into my eyes: "I'm sorry, the owner." In the morning I wake up, and Iguana sits nearby, looks sadly. Well, I was already sympathetic. But my hand is swollen. So I iguan in an armful - and to the doctor. It turned out there that this type of iguan is poisonous, only their poison is very weak, so they at first bite, and then stupidly dragged after the victim, they are waiting for the way ... "
Among others, this story was divided into his site And in "Live magazine»Journalist Vladimir Shahijanyan, she retains for many years popularity V Blogs, on forums, V social networks, on entertaining platforms And it is found even in magazine About art in an article about one of the paintings of Caravaggio.
Iguans are lizards that live mainly in Central and South America. Adult reptiles can achieve 1.5–2 m in length and weigh up to 14 kg. Iguans lead A daily lifestyle, live mainly on trees and rarely descend - only for the sake of mating, laying eggs or in search of a more suitable tree.
Iguans feed on leaves, flowers and fruits, that is, they belong to herbivores. In 1990, a team of scientists under the leadership of herpetologist Stanley Rand from the Smithsonian Institute investigated The contents of the gastrointestinal tract 31 iguana caught in Panama. Sharp teeth of reptiles cut large pieces of leaves and flowers, and digestion in their stomach is not very active, so fragments of food can be analyzed, simply comparing with herbarium. All the stomachs contained exclusively plant material - leaves of trees and bushes, fragments of vines and herbs. Scientists AllowedThat in the stomach of the iguans you can sometimes find insects, but only because, biting off and instantly swallowing the leaves, the animal does not pay attention to them. As the researchers suggest, sand and gravel can also swallow to facilitate digestion of iguans.
There is no evidence that these reptiles feed on meat, bird eggs or carrion. Moreover, the digestive system of iguan does not have enough enzymes to split animal proteins and fats. The individual containing a lack of food contained in captivity can eat in theory the insects and even mice offered by the owner, but only until the nutrient deficiency disappears, that is, until it is offered a sufficient portion of delicious and healthy foliage. However, Iguan, most likely, will prefer its feces, which, even if they do not have significant energy value, but at least do not contradict its diet. The fact is that animal food causes a serious harm to the reptile - those amino acids and purines that the lizard cannot digest, break up into uric acid molecules. It is deposited in soft tissues, organs and joints, causing urolithiasis, as well as causing pain with each movement, similar to the one that a person suffering from gout is experiencing.
It turns out that, contrary to the stated in history from social networks, under normal conditions of detention in captivity, Iguan does not make sense to obtain an animal protein for itself, all the more attacking a person. Already this fact is made by the described story of implausible.
Only two types of lizards Dangerous For humans: Arizonian nucleusobes and Mexican bead lizard. Iguan's poisonous glands almost Atrophied In the process of evolution, they produce a small toxic poison, which is not dangerous for people or other animals. However, Iguana bite should not be underestimated - in her jaw Located About 120 small and sufficiently sharp teeth, and new ones can grow in place of those who have fallen. Therefore, biting, iguana will not only damage the skin and blood vessels, but can easily leave a dozen of his teeth in the wound.
The oral cavity in lizards leaves much to be desired. In her mouth located A lot of bacteria - for example, salmonella or gram -negative Serratia MarcesCens, resistant to common antibiotics. The bite of Iguana requires immediate treatment of medical help and, most likely, competent antibiotic therapy. Therefore, part of the story, related to the bite of the hand after a bite and seeking a doctor, looks generally believable.
Probably, the bike about Iguana was born from a common stereotype about Komodsky Varan. For a long time It was considered (including in scientific The environment) that these reptiles are accumulated in the oral cavity of cadaveric poison and pathogens with which they poison their victims, and then follow them, waiting for their death from sepsis.
Komodsky Varan - the most Large Lizards (length reaches 3 m, and weight - 135 kg). They, unlike iguan, Predators, hunt for boars, deer, buffalo, horses and cattle. Young individuals can eat rodents, bird eggs, insects, snakes, other lizards, fish, crabs. Also, the Varanes do not disdain carrion, and with a limited food resource resort to cannibalism. At a time, an adult varan can eat meat weighing up to 80% of their weight. In the lower jaw of these reptiles there are poisonous glands, toxin from which it has an anticoagulating effect, that is, it causes massive bleeding in the victims.
The teeth of Komodsky Varanes have special grooves and cavities, the meat stucks in them and creates a favorable environment in the mouth for the development of pathogenic bacteria. At the same time, Varan himself does not suffer from this - in the plasma of his blood Contained Unique antibacterial peptide DRGN-1. Its analogue synthesized in the laboratory is effective against antibiotic-resistant strains of prayed sticks and methicillin-resisted golden staphylococcus, including in the case of a biofilm. Scientists suggestthat from the blood plasma of Komodsky Varan it will be possible to get an antibiotic of the future.
However, the poisoning of their victims is not the main hunting strategy of the Komodsky Varan. American biologist Walter Auffenberg spent more than a year, watching these reptiles, and in his book Notesthat I have never seen the Komodsky Varan bite the victim, introduce her poison, and then let him go. Strong jaws and sharp teeth allow the animal not to use this tactic - Varan or sharply shakes the victim held in the mouth until he breaks her neck, or tears her Achilles tendon and guts still living prey. At the same time, poison activates bleeding from lacerated wounds and simply allows you to kill the victim faster.
Thus, the story of the insidious poisonous iguan is an uninhabited city legend. These lizards are herbivores who do not hunt other creatures. Even with the meager feeding of Iguan, more likely to begin to eat his feces than to rush to a person. Moreover, its poison is harmless to a person, but the bite itself is dangerous, but mainly due to the bacteria contained in the oral cavity. It is possible that the legends were based on ideas about the methods of hunting Komodsky Varan, but they do not correspond to the modern scientific data on these reptiles.
Image on the cover: by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please inform us of this, highlighting the text with an error and by pressing Ctrl+Enter.
