Although I do not remember where it was I saw it, I have seen pictures taken by someone who was bitten by a hognose and claimed to be allergic to it. He said he had done this in the name of showing people exactly what would happen in this situation, since there is quite a debate about it in many snake related forums apparently. His finger swelled up pretty good within the first 3 hours of the bite { which he claimed was very difficult to get the hog to take a sufficient bite to actually get envenomated } Within 24 hours his bitten finger had turned black and blue, and he claimed it was mildly painful but more itched than anything. After 48 hours the colors were fading and the swelling had gone down noticeably. Within 60 hours, the colors had faded to almost un-noticable, rather like a bruise slowly fades as it heals. The swelling had completely gone, and except for the bruising the only thing left were a few tiny marks from the teeth. By 72 hours, it was liked nothing had happened.

Now, as a paranoid mom myself, I can understand your very real fear for your son. Do I honestly think it's something you need to worry about? Not really. Since hognoses are rear fanged, your son would have to really stick his finger into the hoggies mouth pretty darn far to get a bite with venom, and most kids would know enough not to let that happen. A casual bite, even an open mouth casual bite from a hoggie wouldn't result in anything more than a nearly microscopic pinprick. You'd just about have to open the mouth and shove your finger in in order to get a venom bite. That being said, I adore my little sand boa. Their faces aren't quite as cute as a hoggie, but they are just adorable. They look remarkably like a giant worm with tiny little eyes and a perpetual smile. The males stay very small, only about 18 inches or so. Females can reach about 30 inches if I remember correctly. And despite the name, sand is not recommended for sand boas. I keep mine on tiny little aspen chips and he's very happy. They also come in amazing morphs.

Gale