Posted by:
FR
at Sat May 25 10:17:12 2013 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by FR ]
So I have a pair of hogs, in a four foot cage. I want to learn about their perferences.
I set up a cool side and a warm side with hiding and burrowing in sawdust in both sides. They used both sides and formed a pattern of moving from cool to warm and feeding and coming out, basking etc.
Then I placed a sterilite 16 quart size, full or dirt similar to what they use in nature. I brought samples home from a local hognose site. Its has a full 6 inches of dirt. I also placed a hide hollow on the bottom middle.
The results have been both hogs went into the dirt and have not come out in over a week, hahahahahahaha which is predictable.
I then took out the hide hollow to see if they would make their own underground area, they did and are still there now. Next is to place the same sized sterilite container with the same dirt on the warm side and see if they use it.
So far the dirt tells me that they have a greater need for the dirt/burrowing, then coming out or going to heat and feeding.
As you know, I am watching the hogs in nature as well. And 99% of them and over 99% of the time are at this time doing the same thing, they are down in dirt shelters. They are also breeding and developing eggs while down in these shelters.
One last observation, without the dirt, they did drink a lot of water, now they are not drinking any. Which is also what the wild ones are doing.
The cool side is now mid seventies to low eighties.
As I mentioned next is another box of dirt on the warm side, then possibly using the exact soil they use in nature to see if they pick it over similar soil from here.
When I came here, I asked if anyone kept hogs in a way the hogs were adapted to live. As opposed to keeping them like any other colubrid. I recieved no answers and mainly attacks.
My questioning hognose is simple, snakes have no legs, therefore, adaptions to their enviornment and behavior occurs elsewhere. Noses seem to be important. In my area, we have all manner of nose adaptions, longnose, hooknose, leafnose, patchnose, And of course our vinesnake which should have been named the pointy nosed snake has the largest adaption. Hognose are right up there in the nose business. Which allows the question, WHY? Thats easy, to dig, NO! i asked why, in their habitat, there are many other normal nosed snakes, so why do hogs have that nose and even better, how important is that nose to them? To me, this stuff is the fun part, not "just" making morphs. Which you can still do.
p.s. one last small observation, once they made their holes, they have not kept digging. Which is a good sign. And they did make a cave at the bottom. Best wishes
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 Update on dirt test - FR, Sat May 25 10:17:12 2013
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