Bitten by Western Hognose !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey everybody,
Well, I have a story to tell. Last Wednesday,when I was in the process of feeding my snakes I was severely bitten by my Western Hognose. I was extending my hand towards her enclosure with a rat pinky when she suddenly bolted upwards and clamped onto my hand, latching on to the meaty part between the thumb and forefinger. She began to grind her fangs back and forth and remained on my hand for approx' three minutes while I took the pain and waited for her to release. when she let go my hand was immediately flooded with blood and I rushed into the bathroom and rinsed the area and applied pressure.I then cleaned the wound area and applied a dressing. I had the gut feeling I was in trouble as she had hit a vein.
The following morning my hand was swollen to twice its normal size and had petachiea ( broken capillary veins ) all over it with a growing red spot on the underside of my forearm. I went to the emergency room and the immediatley admitted me to the hospital. The red spot grew to the entire length of my forearm and began to blister. I spent the next five days in the hospital and the tissue on my forearm had to be debrided by a plastic surgeon. I was on an IV with a constant stream of antibiotics the whole time. I am now at home recovering. I have a thick pressure dressing on my arm from my wrist to my elbow and have to change the dressing once a day.I am taking vicodin for pain. The surgeon says the effects of the venom was like a second degree burn in the affected area.
Well, so much for the myth of Hognoses being totally harmless. I would advise all the other Hognose owners out there to be a tad more cautious as I am living proof that a Hognose can land you in the hospital. I still love snakes and have my collection but I gave my Hognose to my reptile store as she put the fear of God into me for sure. Granted a Hognose is not a "hot" snake in the same category of a Gaboon viper or rattlesnake but they are more than hot enough to last me a lifetime. I can only imagine how bad a good shot of Eastern Diamond Back rattler venom must be like.
Well, wish me a good recovery and all of you fellow snake lovers be careful out there. I learned a very important lesson from this for all snake owners.When snakes are feeding they go into "kill" mode and are dangerous to have your hands or other body parts anywhere near them. Where I screwed up was getting too comfortable and not using tongs which is how I will feed from now on. This incident was entirely my fault and I take full blame. The Hognose in question was NOT vicious or after me....she was excited by the scent of food and her aim was off and she nailed me thinking I was a rat pinky because my hand was tainted with the smell of rodent.
Okay...that is enough of me for now....
The EyeLashViper
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