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Alex Earl
Snake Mite
19 Posts |
 Posted - 16/12/2010 : 14:53:13
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i was wondering why hognose snakes have a mild venom, is this to aid in digestion or am i wrong?
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LouiseB
Yearling Hoggie
United Kingdom
624 Posts |
Posted - 16/12/2010 : 15:17:31
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| I think it's so they can either paralyse or kill their prey. Although it's not generally harmful to humans, the venom does work on toads and rodents, as I understand it. |
1.0.0. Western hognose (Baldrick)
0.1.0. Amel bloodred corn snake (Cornflake)
R.I.P. Bob (Western hognose) |
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Alex Earl
Snake Mite
19 Posts |
Posted - 16/12/2010 : 15:43:28
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| i just watched my hognose eat his first fuzzy, it took about an hour and a half and it looked like the face of the fuzzy (he ate it bum first)started becoming very deformed and pink looking (like there was no fur), do you reckon this may have been due to the venom? |
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LouiseB
Yearling Hoggie
United Kingdom
624 Posts |
Posted - 17/12/2010 : 11:19:52
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I think it's more likely to have been because of the blood getting squashed towards the head, especially if he ate it rear end first. Its not uncommon for prey items to bleed from the nose and eyes in this situation due to the pressure build up.
Just as an aside, that's a very long time for a small snake to spend eating a single item. It may have been too big for him? I know you were asking about this on another thread, but it might be worth trying him with a smaller fuzzie next time. |
1.0.0. Western hognose (Baldrick)
0.1.0. Amel bloodred corn snake (Cornflake)
R.I.P. Bob (Western hognose) |
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Alex Earl
Snake Mite
19 Posts |
Posted - 17/12/2010 : 11:41:02
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| yer it was a very very long time, but once he had started i couldnt take it off him so i let him finish. i think the main problem was that he was in shed so couldnt see what he was doing (he started to try and eat the bottom of the container first) and then started eating the fuzzy at an awkward angle. im going to cut the legs off next time and make sure i hold it in front of him so he takes the head first |
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LouiseB
Yearling Hoggie
United Kingdom
624 Posts |
Posted - 20/12/2010 : 12:49:38
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| My hoggy always tries to grab his food around the middle first - I wonder if it's because they need to get hold of a fleshy bit in order to envenomate it? |
1.0.0. Western hognose (Baldrick)
0.1.0. Amel bloodred corn snake (Cornflake)
R.I.P. Bob (Western hognose) |
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Alex Earl
Snake Mite
19 Posts |
Posted - 20/12/2010 : 18:10:42
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| he digested it fine, he had a nearly successful shed (had to give him a warm bath to help him with the tail tip and a random part in the middle of his body). just so i dont have to start a new thread, does anyone elses hognose randomly hiss? mines has done it twice today and im a good 2 metres away from his tank. its like he wants my attention |
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LouiseB
Yearling Hoggie
United Kingdom
624 Posts |
Posted - 21/12/2010 : 10:50:13
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| Yeah, mine did that when he was still relatively young, and he does do it occasionally if I startle him. He also does it at my dad every time he sees him - he just seems to have taken a dislike to him for some reason! |
1.0.0. Western hognose (Baldrick)
0.1.0. Amel bloodred corn snake (Cornflake)
R.I.P. Bob (Western hognose) |
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Reason for Hognose Venom
