Poisonous Snakes consuming poison (chemical) While travelling with my Son to a religious shrine, we saw a dead snake lying on the road. My Son asked a curious question to me "Dad, if Poisonous snakes consume poison (Chemical), Will they die"? I feel the answer is depends upon the type of poisonous snake viz Cobra, Python etc and how much the reptile has consumed the poison. i.e. quantity. What is the correct answer?

If any living thing consumes enough of a poison it will die. But I feel that is not what you want to ask.

Perhaps you meant to ask if a snake will die if it drinks its own venom? That would make more sense as a question.

In English, **venom** and **poison** mean different things when talking about a toxic chemical produced by an animal.

**Poison** is a toxic chemical produced by an animal that is meant to be ingested/eat/drink.

**Venom** is a toxic chemical produced by an animal that is meant to be injected into the bloodstream.

So a snake bite has venom, but a colourful tree frog has poison on its skin.

Venom is _typically_ not nearly as harmful if ingested, even if by a different animal, because it is meant to act directly in the bloodstream