John, I too would be concerned about brumating a male that has not eaten in 4 months. If I were you I would brumate the female and try again to get the male to eat. I don't think it is imperative that hognose be brumated for an extended period, so if you can get the male eating, and brumate him, even for a short period, I'd feel more confident. Having said that, I don't believe brumation is always necessary for successful fertility.

I wish I knew why hognose stop eating, other than pre-shed periods. I have found that some hognose lines are voracious eaters, while others are finicky. I had a female that would not eat any mouse that had hair on it. She would eat any size up to a fuzzy, but not beyond that. I had to break her of that by getting her to eat live hoppers.

What methods have you tried to get the male to eat? When mine go off feed for an extended period I try everything to get them eating again. Sometimes it is something as simple as changing their enclosure temperature for a day or two.

Wendell

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