Bite Risks

[reptileexperts]

Hi Guys,

I've posted a bite info thread a while back that told a short story of my one envenomation by this reluctant to bite breed. Well, cleaning tanks last night my wife decided to hold our biter anaconda hognose after I showed her he was behaving, and sure enough took her second snake bite ever. The hog bit down on her pinky knuckle, and remained locked on for roughly 3 minutes. Upon removal, she had a freely bleeding wound showcasing 1 strong puncture from his enlarged rear teeth.

To those who think hognose venom is too mild for humans . . . think again. It may very with different people, she normally has poor reactions to mosquito bites. . . within 30 minutes of the bite, she lost feeling in the bite finger, which was soon met with a throbbing sensation due to swelling. Within the hour, she started on Benadryl incase this was an allergic reaction, and the swelling had overtaken her knuckle, and traveled 2 inches into her hand causing more discomfort - no nausea / vomiting at this point. We removed her wedding ring and she slept it off.

Wake up this morning, the side of her hand below her pinky still remains swollen, and as predicted, her ring finger also became enlarged (we attempted to put her wedding ring back on her this morning, but that failed miserably). So word to the wise - if you do get tagged by a hognose, watch for symptoms of envenomation and take Benadryl to reduce complications.

Pictures below.

[reptileexperts]

Approx 45 minutes post bite.

More to come.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Skiploder]

Hi Guys,

I've posted a bite info thread a while back that told a short story of my one envenomation by this reluctant to bite breed. Well, cleaning tanks last night my wife decided to hold our biter anaconda hognose after I showed her he was behaving, and sure enough took her second snake bite ever. The hog bit down on her pinky knuckle, and remained locked on for roughly 3 minutes. Upon removal, she had a freely bleeding wound showcasing 1 strong puncture from his enlarged rear teeth.

To those who think hognose venom is too mild for humans . . . think again. It may very with different people, she normally has poor reactions to mosquito bites. . . within 30 minutes of the bite, she lost feeling in the bite finger, which was soon met with a throbbing sensation due to swelling. Within the hour, she started on Benadryl incase this was an allergic reaction, and the swelling had overtaken her knuckle, and traveled 2 inches into her hand causing more discomfort - no nausea / vomiting at this point. We removed her wedding ring and she slept it off.

Wake up this morning, the side of her hand below her pinky still remains swollen, and as predicted, her ring finger also became enlarged (we attempted to put her wedding ring back on her this morning, but that failed miserably). So word to the wise - if you do get tagged by a hognose, watch for symptoms of envenomation and take Benadryl to reduce complications.

Pictures below.

I keep a lot of RFV species and with the exception true "hot" rear fangers (dispholidus, olfersii, tigirinus, etc, the selling and edema you describe are very common and have nothing to do with allergies.

As for people having spontaneous allergic reactions to reptile venom without any significant prior exposure.....literally unknown.

Hognose venom is of inconsequential medical significance. The effects you describe are very common with prolonged heterodon bites and are caused by the venom. They are not life threatening.

This idea that RFV bites can cause a anaphylactic or serious allergic reaction is not based in any studies and has been disregarded by the research community. The swelling is a by-product of the mild venom, no more, no less. The negligible allergic reaction risk has been discussed and put to rest by some of the foremost venom researchers - most of which deal exclusively in colubrid venoms.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-some-hognoses

Old thread, but the links are still valid.

[Reinz]

Skip, is it fair to take away then that Benadryl is of no use or rather not proven in this instance?

And to add, of course it sure doesn't hurt to take it, like chicken soup for a cold.

[Skiploder]

Skip, is it fair to take away then that Benadryl is of no use or rather not proven in this instance?

And to add, of course it sure doesn't hurt to take it, like chicken soup for a cold.

Benadryl is a standard operating procedure medication they give you when you get a venomous snake bite. It's administered sometimes prophylactically for a potential allergic reaction.

But not from the bite.

Example - in the case of rattlesnake, copperhead, and cottonmouth envenomations, Antivenin (Crotalidae) Polyvalent has long been the standard treatment. However, ACP is known to be highly allergenic because of its equine basis and often poses a greater risk to the patient than the snakebite itself. In a study, anywhere from a quarter to a little more than half of patients who received ACP had allergic reactions including anaphylaxis.

The sheep bases antivenin CroFab has a better track record as compared to ACP.

When I got bit by one of my heloderma, the doctor put me on Benadryl - didn't do a thing. It was administered via IV. At the time I asked the administering doctor why I was getting Benadryl and was told it was SOP. The damn drug made me really edgy and nauseous. I asked a second doctor why and he told me that the admitting doctor made a mistake - and confirmed that antihistamines were administered in conjunction with the antivenin for snake bites.

Bottom line is this: allergies to opistoglyphous snake venom are almost unheard of. Allergies to front fanged snakes are slightly more common because the residue that is sometime dribbled or leaked during a prey strike can dry and then be inhaled over several years time - leading to an allergy. If you have a real allergy to snake venom, the best course of action is to have an epipen on hand.

[jclaiborne]

In the case of an RFV bite, since the swelling is common and allergic reactions are not really documented. Does body size play into the reaction and how bad the swelling can be as well or is it like a bee sting in the sense that it will affect everyone the same (swelling to the local area). The reason I am asking is say my 6 year old (about 46 pounds) was tagged by a hognose or a beaked snake would his reaction be worse because he is tiny in comparision to an adult?

[Skiploder]

In the case of an RFV bite, since the swelling is common and allergic reactions are not really documented. Does body size play into the reaction and how bad the swelling can be as well or is it like a bee sting in the sense that it will affect everyone the same (swelling to the local area). The reason I am asking is say my 6 year old (about 46 pounds) was tagged by a hognose or a beaked snake would his reaction be worse because he is tiny in comparision to an adult?

Depends on the species. The venom from a rhamphiophis is in a different class than heterodon.

...and it also depends on whether you get envenomated or not....and depends on the composition of the venom. Not all RFV colubrids possess the same venom.

With regard to hognoses, the swelling is from the kallikrein toxins. The common misconception is that the swelling is an allergic reaction. It is not.