Western Hognose Snake Advice

[Jackie]

Hey there.
I was wondering if anyone could help me. I bought two Western Hognose snake babies in August, supposedly a breeding pair. The female is a little fatty and will eat anything and everything, even though she only gets pinkies. The male however refuses to eat. I tried everything, was even told he was too small for pinkies so the person told me to syringe feed it puppy food. He still hasn't grown like the female has and I was able to get him to eat a pinky by sticking the head in his mouth, I'm just afraid I'm going to hurt him. I also don't want to take away his hunting instinct.
Any suggestions?

Jackie

 

[JColt]

You wont take away his hunting instincts. Keep feeding him, take your time when doing it and you will have a good chance of him feeding normally once he gets a bit bigger.

 

[glamiswarrior]

im interested in getting a hognose. i hear that they are semi venomous but there fangs are in the rear of their mouths and are really ineffective on humans. is this true?? also i hear that their main diet is toads???

 

[JColt]

Eastern Hogs mainly eat toads, westerns will normally take mice. If a large hog was able to get his rear fang in you it would be almost like a bee sting. Itchy and bit of swelling.

 

[mindlessvw]

you can try scenting the mouse with a frog...just rub it all over it...also ask the guy you got it from what he was feeding it and how...

 

[Beardo]

A supposedly breedable male Hognose is "too small for pinky mice"? Somethings fishy here.....how big is the snake?

Sometimes males (adults) will go off feed during this time of the year in preparation for the winter cool down.

 

[AneesasMuse]

When you say you bought a breeding pair.. do you mean they were sold to you as a currently breeding pair or you are going to raise them up to become a breeding pair? I'm with DavidBeard on this... "eating pinky mice" is pretty small to be breeding.

 

[mindlessvw]

sorry i didn't even catch that part...good questions?

 

[OldHag]

I just got a baby female hognose. She is this years baby. Shes very tiny. She was labled as a Non-eater so I got her for free basically. I got her to eat small pinkies by washing the pinkie with dish soap and rinsing VERY VERY well, then braining the pinkie and putting it in her cage. She eats it everytime now.
Try that method, or putting the food in a snake bag with the snake and leaving it in the cage overnight.
I cant imagine feeding a snake dog food is very good for it.....

 

[Jackie]

haha yeah i meant to be raised as a breeding pair... now i feel like a dummy. I tried the braining thing and he was resistant to it. I didn't think the dog food was a good idea either, god knows why I listened to the wench. :? As long as I'm not taking away his instincts of hurting him I'll be alright with it, I just don't want him to die. Everyone is so helpful! Thank you so much.

Jackie

 

[Jmugleston]

Try washing the pink and scenting with toads.

This method (toad scenting) was mentioned above, and it is a common practice for picky hogs. I may have missed this, but were you trying live or frozen pinks. Some my hatchling colubrids take frozen/thawed pinks right away, but others refuse these and only eat live.
As for venom: Some report that when being bit it was itchy in the area, but no real pain. Other I have spoken with say it was no different than a bite from a similar sized kingsnake.

 

[Takumaku]

Another scenting method that I have been very successful with is scenting with tuna water/juice. It's the juice that comes from a can of tuna fish.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I also don't want to take away his hunting instinct.

This is impossible. That's like thinking you can take away a person's instinct to breathe. It's not a learned behavior, they can't "forget" how to do it. Although it's still safer and better for all involved to be feeding dead prey.

Also I'm glad you didn't listen to that woman about the dog food thing, what the crap, seriously. :wall:

 

[mindlessvw]

other things that might scent well are lizards too...some times(not always) if they are really tiny they will eat insects...i have a coach whip that munches crix down...he would be on pinky parts otherwise...like i said sis you ask the woman what she had been feeding it?

 

[Jackie]

Hmm I tried the pinky scenting, both frozen and live with a frog (it was a lot of fun to try and catch it haha) and the live pinkies always would die because he just didn't want to touch them. I also tried the paper bag trick, putting him in a bag with a pinky and sticking it in the tank, and also I even did the braining where I took a thawed out pink and bashed it up to pour all over the live pink (mmm delicious). I think he's just very sensitive about his weight .

 

[rollinkansas]

Hmm I tried the pinky scenting, both frozen and live with a frog (it was a lot of fun to try and catch it haha) and the live pinkies always would die because he just didn't want to touch them. I also tried the paper bag trick, putting him in a bag with a pinky and sticking it in the tank, and also I even did the braining where I took a thawed out pink and bashed it up to pour all over the live pink (mmm delicious). I think he's just very sensitive about his weight .

If hes not eating after braining, scenting with anoles and toads, paper bag, etc you can use a pinky pump if nothing else works.

 

[Galadriel]

I just want to point out that, if in the extremely unlikely event, you are envenomated by your western hognose, the results may be worse than an itchy bee sting.
http://www.herpnet.net/bite/

This happened several years ago, and hognose have gone on a few ban lists because of it. These were EXTREME circumstances (who would let their snake chew on them?), but it IS a factual and documented result of a western hognose envenomation.

 

[Beardo]

A person's reaction to a bite varies from person to person.....I've been chewed on by Hognoses before and has absolutely zero symptoms.

 

[Philth]

It said... " After about 3-5 minutes the snake continued to chew so I dunked it under cool tap water which caused it to quickly release it's grip."

Why did he wait 3-5 mins to get it off ?:?

Later, Tom

 

[Jackie]

If hes not eating after braining, scenting with anoles and toads, paper bag, etc you can use a pinky pump if nothing else works.

May I ask what exactly a pinky pump is and where I may get it? Also I was told that I'm stressing out the snakes by forcing them, which isn't my goal either.
I have a new problem too... My female just shed and now she's deciding to be anorexic... Should I keep forcing them or just offer and after like a month of still no eating force again?

Also, I definitely agree with Tom on why the guy let the snake bite him for 3-5 minutes? That just allowed more venom in which is probably why he blew up. If I ever get bit I'll let you know what happens, which may be soon because the female just turned into a bitch lol.

Thanks,
Jackie