rear fanged snake bites

[jossh27]

I Just got a hognose snake and was wondering since they are rear fanged how do you get a rear fanged snake off of you quickly when bit? - mouthwash?

[Andy_G]

They don't latch on that well. Put pressure against their nose and lift up and they will come off quite easily in most cases, but watch that they don't latch onto the fingers pushing them off. Rubbing alcohol and mouthwash are said to help by irritating the snake, but they don't work sometimes. Practically all cases where bites happen with these guys are feeding related, so use tongs or hemostats when you feed and stay away from the business end if there's a rodent around. I had one adult female that would try to eat everything...fingers, blankets, the male that bred her, the side of her tub...for moving her I had some bite proof gloves and even then she never got a hold of me with those on.

[Albert Clark]

Hognose snakes are actually enlarged rear teeth reptiles. And they don't have hollow grooves in those teeth as does the Boomslang so they cannot inject the toxic saliva they possess. They have to chew on their prey or in the case of a bite to stimulate the Duvernoys gland and activate the mild neurotoxic saliva. Some people are allergic to the enzymes and chemical structure of saliva/ venom. Turning on the cold water in the sink and placing the reptile under running cold water has proven effective.

[Andy_G]

These guys actively hunt amphibians in cold water in a lot of their natural range...so I am not convinced the cold water method would be effective in this species, considering that? Definitely in some species it would, though.

[Albert Clark]

True. Howevever when using the cold water method , you want to have the water running rather forcefully into and on the mouth and head of the reptile. I believe they hunt in still waters and or water with very little current.

[Andy_G]

Wouldn't be my "go to" with these guys, that's all...

[jossh27]

My cal king had a Death grip on my finger and i ran water over his head for literally 15-20 minutes i wouldn't want a little hoggy chewing on me for that long.

[MDT]

Hognose snakes are considered opisthoglyphs, meaning they have enlarged teeth near the MID-portion of the maxilla. They are considered "rear-fanged" as their fangs are not in the anterior aspect of the maxilla. The teeth are grooved and the glandular structures (Duvernoy's glands most accepted vs true venom glands- I've seen one paper refering to separate structures, but I haven't looked that hard)...actually release enzymes (phosphodiesterase is a biggie) and post-synaptically acting neurotoxins in H.platyrhinos. The first paper mentions a "possibility" of a type I hypersensitivity reaction (allergic reaction)...this can ONLY happen if you've been exposed to that particular protein before. Basically, if you've been bitten by a hognose snake in the past and you've developed antibodies against certain proteins in the saliva and you get bitten again- allergic reaction.

Local envenoming by the Western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus): a case report and review of medically significant Heterodon bites. - PubMed - NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19393681)

Properties of Duvernoy's secretions from opisthoglyphous and aglyphous colubrid snakes. - PubMed - NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7846688)

[pet_snake_78]

Most of the snakes I have are rear fanged. I've done a lot of research and reading on them and as far as I can tell most are of no real concern to human beings. However, there are a couple of species which might be fatal to humans (confirmed deaths). Fortunately, the western hognose has proven quite safe.

[D Grade]

My cal king had a Death grip on my finger and i ran water over his head for literally 15-20 minutes i wouldn't want a little hoggy chewing on me for that long.

Same thing happened with my Cal King when I had him, but I was prepared. A swab of listerine a few mm from where he was latched and he released in about 10 seconds.

[Snake_eyes_88]

Personally I'm not a fan of using any chemical or alchohol containing liquid to make a snake release... I find the cold water method to be hit and miss, plus I've noticed with certain snake that the cold water has made them bite harder... Also I'd worry with running cold water that I'd drop their temp too much.. These are just my opinions and I know others swear by the mouthwash/water method.

In my own experience I've noticed that once I've uncoiled them by the tail end that they usually let go.

[Petsnakes]

One of my friends was bitten by a Western Hognose and it caused a fair amount of swelling. I was there at the time and took pictures of his hand but I've no idea how to share them on here.

[PatrickT]

idk? Maybe open paddock 9?

[IW17]

I put the snakes mouth under running water and VERY SLOWLY increase the water temp. The snake will let go when it it reaches the right temp. You gotta be careful doing this as you could injure the snake if you use too hot of water

[Rattlehead]

Once I was bitten by my kingsnake, for some reason crossed my mind gently blowing some air to her face, she did let go inmediately. If she ever bites me again, I'll try this method again to see if it was just luck!

[jossh27]

i appreciate everyone's feedback! i wasn't worried about being harmed by the "toxicities" in their saliva, juist wanted to to know now to get the bugger off quickly. pushing on its nose seems like the most effective way- thanks andy