Troy,
I mean no disrespect to you or anyone else here. I typically don't like debates because in most cases, people get their feelings hurt.

No disrespect taken and definitely no feelings of mine were hurt by your post. We're cool!

If anything, your post elicited Gregg to respond with a great factual post which led to him and I having a(nother) great phone conversation which led me to do further research and fully understand a lot more about this topic than I ever knew before.

I just hate negative plublicity. I am pretty sure that wasn't your intention. If I was someone who has no knowlege of snakes and read that, I would be concerned. Thats all.

And that was my actual intention of posting my experience, to share my experience so that someone else could have some knowledge of the potential side effects of a hognose bite and make the determination on whether or not it's the right species of snake for them to keep.

I was definitely trying to be informative, not negative. But the fact is, some information is negative no matter how you cut it and it's up to people to decide on what to do with that information.

Everybody knows the risks of driving while under the influence of alcohol and yet people still do it even though lives are taken and destroyed by this choice. They are informed, they know the risks and choices are made.

My point is, if someone really wants a hognose snake, they are going to get one even if armed with the knowledge of the possbility of a reaction from being bitten. Heck, one guy told me that that was what interested him in wanting to keep hognose, because it was like keeping a "hot" snake without the risk of losing a limb or life. People will put their own spin on the reasons why to own or not own a hognose, but it should be their decision to make based on the facts of what is possible. That's all I was trying to convey.

There are a lot of people who want to make reptile ownership nonexistant. These people generally have zero knowlege of snakes. In fact, they may be horrified by them. I would hate for this type of person to stumble upon your post. I may have been scientifically incorrect and stated my opinion as fact and I appologise for that.

The absolute truth is, if someone is afraid of something, it doesn't matter whether they want to believe in the facts or mythology, they are still going to demonize that which they fear. Snakes of course top the fear list for a lot of people, it doesn't matter if it's a corn snake or a cobra, they'll still freak out and run in the opposite direction when faced with either. So the fact that a hognose bite can cause pain and swelling isn't going to make it any worse for someone who is already demonizing snakes.

Am I giving snake haters ammo for sharing my bite experience on the internet for all to see? That's like saying that the Discovery Channel is hurting the shark population and the tourist beaches every year when they show Shark Week. The truth is, in relation to Shark Week, is that even though people know more about sharks and their lethal potential, it's also raised in awareness and the need for their conservation. Kind of like what Steve Irwin did for the much feared and maligned crocodiles all those many years ago.

Actually, knowledge is power, and with power comes respect. So if knowing the truth about the potentials of hognose bites gives people the knowledge and respect they need to know so that they can lessen the chances of a bite and a reaction, then we're actually reducing the negative aspects of hognose ownership by hopefully reducing the bites that come from owning such a species.

Either way, regardless of the differences of opinions regarding this seemingly sensitive topic, it's been fun, energizing and above all, educational to me and I hope others as well.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

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