Dangerous Hognoses!!!

[Razaiel]

My daughter wants a Hognose - I think they're really cute too - so I asked a snake breeder (he specialises in boas) if he by any chance bred hognoses - but he said no, because they're venomous - and he'd seen the result of a bite. Well I knew they kept venom in their rear fangs anyway, but - surely they can't affect humans that much?

[kenatk]

Actually, they're not sure (last I read) whether or not the hognose snake had actual venom, or whether or not there was a combination of peptides, enzymes and bacteria in the mouth of the animal that causes the reation when the snake bites bit you. Suffice it to say though, there is something in that animal's mouth that will irritate the hell out of your skin, muscle tissue and immune system if a hognose snake manages to bite you and dig his rear teeth in.

I've seen hognose bites and they're not pretty ... but mostly the bite yields a lot of swelling and discoloration for a few days accompanied by mild pain.

Now, they say those snakes rarely bite, even when threatened. But that doesn't mean the snake wont bite you.

It all depends on what you and your daughter want but be advised, a bite from a hognose can be pretty nasty.

[Ironhead]

I can only add what I have experienced with hognose snakes so it would be wise to get the info from an expert on them. I have had several of them in my lifetime and have never been bitten by one but my Dad was mistakenly bitten by one once while hand feeding a toad to the hognose (the little booger mistaked his thumb for the toad). I do not remember any reaction from the bite but that is not to say that it cant. I have heard that they are slightly venomous but never knew that until I became a member of this site. I personnaly would own another hognose without hesitation if I had room for it. They are easy to care for and are very easely handled. Just make sure that you get all the info on one before making the decision to own one. Good luck on this journey.

[Jeanne]

Hi ya Carl! Good to see ya around!

[Colin Vestrand]

they're one of several rear fanged snakes with a duvernoy's gland which could be considered 'venemous'. but there's a huge difference between toxic saliva and venom. i was once bitten by a northern water snake and even though the bite didn't hurt, the next day my thumb was purple and swollen... it can happen with a lot of snakes...

in my opinion, hognoses are less dangerous than, say, a ball python because the size of their teeth and the strength of their jaws just is not very great.

dr sherman minton has done a lot of research on this... he's actually gone so far as to say that all snakes are venemous.

anyway, american garters, water snakes, ringneck snakes... they're all in the same boat. everytime i've ever come in contact with a hognose in the wild, they strike with a closed mouth - a welcome difference to other wild snakes! just watch the feeding response

summary: get one, they're a great beginner snake! i kept one when i was little that i found down by our pond and my ex's first snake was a hoggy. they're super easy to care for and if you get a western hognose it will eat mice like no tomorrow. just don't get an eastern or southern unless you have a good supply of toads.

[Razaiel]

I shall get one they're really cute. TBH my first reaction was to laugh when I read his words - I'd read about the venom and thought it only applied to toads. I guess I'll just have to make sure when handling I don't smell like a toad

[jjspirko]

Thing to remember is there are only two reasons snakes ever bite

1. Defensive

or

2. Feeding Response

The reality is in 20 plus years fo field herping and more then my share of hoggies I have never ever seen a defensive bite from a hog. They can be doing their puffing and rattle snake impression then the fake cobra and you can just pick them up totaly wild and they never bite. One could some day some where but I think your odds on the lottery are better then being bit by an angry hog.

So every hog bite I have seen is a feeding response. There are two kinds of those.

1. The person being bit calmly removes the snake and goes on with life.

or

2. The person is what we called an ID-10-T or idiot in the army and lets the snake chew and chew and chew. When that happens some people have swelling and a reaction consistant with mild envenomation.

They are of course totaly harmless in reality to humans. Anyone who gets a swolen hand from a hog deserved it for letting the poor guy keep trying to eat a hand.

There were some pics that went around a while ago and that is where all this "hogs are venomous" came from in the pet trade. Of course the "rocket scientist" that got bit and photographed it allowed the snake to chew on his hand for 3-5 minutes by his own account.

Here is a link to captain dingus's accout of the bite http://www.herpnet.net/bite/

What a dipstick of course it did show what the worst possible outcome is and it just really isn't that bad,

[mm91187]

my brother has a female hognose, she's is very tiny. She tries to act all agresive and angry sometimes like puffing up her cheeks, rattling her tale and striking. If you stick your first in her face she just backs off and lets you pick her up. I think she is afraid of a big fist lol

[Razaiel]

Wow - old post! Well I did get my hoggy and she's a gorgeous little thing (well little compared to my boa and ball) she's actually 3ft long adult and sweet and docile (I'd almost say loving - she actually enjoys coming out and being handled). I can see that the only time I'm likely to get bit is indeed the feeding response - she shoots around the viv when she smells mouse!!

I'm actually now in the process of thinking of getting her a male so I can breed them next year

[Colin Vestrand]

wow... so i'm guessing that guy purposely 'scented' his hand so he could document this? way to take one for the team.