I hear people say that hogs will readily kill and eat snakes. I am thinking that surely these hogs are getting bitten by the snakes they are attacking. Are hogs immune to snake bites? What effect does a snake bite have on a hog? How would that affect the meat of a recently snake bitten hog that a human might eat?

Another issue is that rattlers are becoming less and less prone to rattling. They are evolving because hogs will readily kill and eat them. Thus they are less likely to rattle because that alerts hogs of their presence. Bad news for humans.

I don't think hogs are immune. I believe most snake bites cannot penetrate the tough skin around their feet.

they aren't immune... you just see big eaten out spots in their fatty tissue. Kind of funky and rank if you find a spot that is recent.

I think it is a combination of the thick skin and fat content. I have often heard that snake bite will not bother a domestic pig. Pigs also have little meat on their shins. If a snake bites fat it will not hurt the pig too much because the fat just absorbs the poison.

so if a snake were to bite me in the stomach i would be just fine? i have a hard time believing that

I wouldnt call it immune, but most animals handle snake bites better than we do. For example, I know of alot of dogs that have been bitten by rattle snakes that lived without medical attention, lots of pain and swelling, but lived. I would suspect pigs are the same way.

I also doubt that pigs eat a large number of snakes, and I doubt that ratlers have quit rattling because of anything hogs are doing.

matt

I think the location on the body that an animal is bitten is the key to whether they live or die. A hog will eat just about anything that is in front of him at the time if he is hungry and it stays still long enough. But I do not think they are going to just seek out snakes to eat them. If it is there and he is hungry then dinner was served. If hogs are smart enough to single out snakes to eat then what is next on the food chain for them? Snakes that are not rattling could aslo be brought on by those who hear a snake rattle and kill it...leaving those who do not warn them alone, like I said "could be".

I have no doubt they will hunt up a stank stubbtail to eat. If I can get around one and smell it well before I see it, no doubt they can too.

The above is correct...Hogs are not immune to venom...however due to their tough hide which minimizes penetration and the thick fat layer they are not affected nearly as much. Rattler venom has to enter the blood stream and the fatty layer on pigs isnt nearly as vascular as muscle tissue where most of the small caplilaries and blood vessels are. You can actually drink rattle snake venom..so long as you do not have an open stomach ulcer or open wound in the mouth

Animals handle snake bites much better than we do. I had a horse bitten on the nose by a rattlesnake that was about 4 feet long. I killed the rattler right after it bit the horse, so I know it was a rattlesnake that bit the horse. The horse's head swelled up about twice as large as normal and it looked like an alligator with ears, but it never quit eating. It smelled horrible for a long time. The smell was a real irony smell like dried blood. I believe the layer of fat and the thick skin of a pig would help it survive a poisonous snake bite.

not so sure about drinking the rattlesnake venom...alcohol still ends up in your blood stream, I imagine venom would as well.

Well,guess I should put in my 2 cents worth. I have worked on an ambulance for 12 yrs. and have been certified since 1988.Snake venom is transferred thru the body within the lymphatic system and not the bloodstream as believed by folks who saw too many old westerns. The lymphatic system in a human is just below the skin but above the venous and capillary blood system. Would immagine it is pretty close to the same on a pig as pigs are the closest anatomically to humans of any other non-primate animal.After millions of yrs. of evolution of pigs coming into contact with snakes,they,to some extent ,are able to tolerate snake bites better than most because they injest the vemon when they eat one. Same as a human taking vaccines for diseases.Anti-bodies are built up,giving the appearance that they are immune.If a diiferent kind of snake bit them that they are not normally in contact with,it may well kill them.

Now that was a funny visual right there.

x2

Very well stated, very few know that fact about the lymphatic system and that a pigs anatomy are similar to the human body. Lots of people are receiving organs from hogs now days because they are so similar as stated. I think lots of humans now have valves in their hearts that came from pigs.

Again, nicely stated.

Hogs are incredibly tough. I'll bet you could put one inside a microwave on high, with a hand grenade in it's belly, and the dayum thing would still live...

^ Probably

While we are on the subject of SNAKE BITES,let me also add some info that may well save your' life or a limb.If you are bitten by a snake;
1. Do not panic! Get away from the threat.Then call or have someone call 911.Panic cause adrenaline to be released into your' body and raises your' heart and breathing rate and may cause vemon to travel faster in the body and also cause the venom to metabolize faster.
2. Do not cut the site where you were bitten as described in most snake bite kits.
3. Do not attemt to suck the vemon out by mouth or apply tobacco as both of these release bacteria into the blood stream.As stated in the thread above,poison travels in the lymphatic system and not the bloodstream and cannot be removed once it is there.
4. Do not apply a belt tourniquet above the site because it reduces blood flow to the site which reduces oxygen transfer to the site and may cause necrosis to set in more quickly.
5.DO take a piece of clothing or an ace bandage and wrap the extremity snuggly, BUT NOT TOO TIGHTLY AS TO RESTRICT BLOOD FLOW, from the site of the invenomation to the core of the body. This will slow the flow of the lymphatic system and give you much needed time to get help.DO NOT RELEASE IT ONCE APPLIED !
6. Walk, or be carried if you are not alone,to a place where you may be transported by medical personnel or private vehicle to a place where the 911 operater has instructed you to go or to where an ambulance or helicopter takes you.
If the snake can SAFELY be collected, or at least a photo of the snake,do so,as it will assist the hospital in treating you with the proper anti-venon. Again,the main thing is act,do not react,and STAY CALM !! You can increase your' chances of severe injury and survival by following these steps.