Hognose snake gone wild

[Philminator]

So I have a 3 year old female hognose snake and whenever I slide my tub out she bolts towards me wondering if I will feed her I guess. I pick her up and she has never bit. Yesterday I noticed a snake I got from someone had mites so I treated everyone for mites and my hognose has no mites but the point is when I reached in to take her she started biting herself really hard then would let go. I was sorta caught off by this and was a bit paranoid lol since I don't know if im allergic to their venom and she's a fair size for a hognose so I used my snake hook but she tried to swallow it. So um what gives here? PS 8 years ago I had a tiny hognose snake baby that everytime I put him on my bed he'd try to eat and chew on my pillow!! what is it with hognose snakes lol

[kibakiba]

I think she was biting herself as a self defense. I know they start playing dead, biting and pooping themselves. But, maybe I'm wrong... I've never owned one

[Philminator]

ya not sure it was pretty crazy lol I've only ever seen 2 snakes in my life do something like that and both times its been a hognose snake!

[RedSidedSPR]

They're crazy little things!

...but not that crazy...

[katach]

This is what I could find a quick glance
Hognose - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hognose)

I thought is was interesting that a diet of only rodent can cause liver problems.

[RedSidedSPR]

Theyre toad lovers, that's all the eat in the wild... Although, most people feed only pinkies...

[Philminator]

hmmm that's weird, man she was swallowing the snake hook really fast too had that been my finger it would of been down there pretty good lol and I would of had venom, I hear if you're sensitive to it you can be hospitalized over it

[RedSidedSPR]

Well, I've never worried about it, cause supposedly they don't bite....:D

[katach]

Maybe she is having a reaction to the mite treatment.

[Philminator]

Maybe she is having a reaction to the mite treatment.
she started this behavior right before the treatment lol

[Philminator]

Well, I've never worried about it, cause supposedly they don't bite....:D
yeah thats what I keep hearing lol, maybe she wouldn't bite me and just everything else, 10 minutes ago I reached in to change her paper towel bedding and as I was removing it she bit the paper and tried to eat it!
she's got the craziest feeding response I've ever seen in my life and I've fed 100's of snakes in my life

[katach]

Well there goes that idea. :) Has there been any other changes in her enclosure or a new roomy?

[Philminator]

Well there goes that idea. :) Has there been any other changes in her enclosure or a new roomy?
absolutely nothing, mind you it's been 6 days since she's eaten now and she's due tomorrow, maybe she doesn't want to wait and she's trying to tell me she's hungry? she's either famished or just having a bad case of tourettes

[katach]

Is the enclosure too warm? When our snakes get really warm they tend to act out.

[d_virginiana]

Could she be freaking out over the smell of the mite treatment if you use chemicals or something in it? That could've reached her before she actually got treated..

Biting yourself as a defense mechanism = Evolution fail?

[Floof]

I've always heard Hognoses are pretty dumb as snakes go, and, having dealt with ridiculously ravenous snakes, I can see where dumb + ravenous might equal out to trying to eat oneself, the snake hook, or whatever the heck else gets in the way. One of the Rosy boas at the local pet store is pretty close to that point, attacking everything that touches him (including me, several times, plus the snake hook, a nylon keyfob, and the nozzle on the spray bottle more times than I care to count! LOL). It's a wonder that snake isn't a cannibal, yet, somehow, the only thing he hasn't tried to swallow has been the rosies he's housed with...

Well, hold on, I think I got sidetracked. I swear there was a point in there somewhere... Oh yeah! Stupidly gluttonous snakes. Can't really say what triggered her behavior, honestly, but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it were as simple as the snake getting her "schedule" mixed up and thinking "Oh, it's feeding day!" Cue wild feeding reaction, where, suddenly, everything in range of her mouth MUST be edible...

Anyway, hopefully there's nothing medically wrong, because it sounds absolutely hilarious (other than the whole "venomous," mildly or otherwise, thing). The "eat everything in sight" snakes are some of my favorites to deal with. That Rosy I mentioned? Yeah... He's so mine next paycheck. :p

[Philminator]

Yeah it's just confusing. Nothing has changed in her enclosure since I've had her and all of a sudden anything that moves she attacks and when something moves she opens her mouth before hand and strikes like a tree boa and bites and tries to swallow it whole whatever it is she's gotten a bite on lol. I'm just going to handle her like she's a rattle snake. Kinda sucks as she was so calm before and now she's gone A-wall

[RedSidedSPR]

I say pick her up.

I doubt you'll have a reaction, but even if you do it wont kill you, and then youll.

I can't imagine a snake hook helping her calm down.

[Philminator]

I say pick her up.

I doubt you'll have a reaction, but even if you do it wont kill you, and then youll.

I can't imagine a snake hook helping her calm down.

yeah I'm going to have to do it voluntarily as I don't have much of a choice anyways lol she has the attitude of a tree boa and yet was my calmest snake just a few weeks ago! I've only had her for a month but still I am so confused about what can turn a calm snake that is said to NEVER bite to this snake biting and holding on to anything that moves. she doesn't hiss nor does she flatten her hood and she doesn't coil. She's constantly roaming the tank 24/7 restless and the second you slide the tank open she's ready with her mouth open to bite whatever enters her home lol. it is cute in some ways but I much rather her be the way she was the first 2 weeks I had her.

[ConcinusMan]

hmmm that's weird, man she was swallowing the snake hook really fast too had that been my finger it would of been down there pretty good lol and I would of had venom, I hear if you're sensitive to it you can be hospitalized over it

Hognose venom is never released as a defense. It's only released as a feeding response and they have to do a lot of chewing and piercing of the skin to get it to work. That is why hognose envenomation in humans is extremely rare. You would have to have them think you are food, and let them chew until the skin is broken. The venom comes from glands way in the back of the mouth. It's doubtful you have been affected.

And yes, biting themselves is often done during their "play dead" routine.

From the web: "Hognose snakes are what is called "rear fanged" and they do possess a type of venom, really just a mildly toxic saliva. This toxic secretion is normally harmless to humans, however a few isolated instances of allergic reaction have been recorded. No lasting effects have been ovserved in any case."

[Stefan-A]

do possess a type of venom, really just a mildly toxic saliva.
It's not saliva.

[ConcinusMan]

Nevertheless, I don't think anyone is in any danger here. People get bitten by hognose snakes and the majority of the time, nothing at all happens to be concerned about.