I don't have too much experience with snakes, but years ago I used to keep a few snakes, including a western and southern hog for a museum in college - both were wild-caught. Herp knowledge was little and far between, especially out in BFE New Mexico on the plains 12 years ago. So, you can understand that I ended up experimenting quite a bit. I tried mice (pink and up to small adults as the snakes aged), frogs, toads, tadpoles, goldfish, and baby quail. The hogs went ape for everything but the birds - wouldn't go near them. I wouldn't recommend anything wild-caught to feed to the snakes, due to parasites, but back then, I figured wild-caught snakes, so wild-caught food wouldn't hurt. I've learned since then and wouldn't do the same today.



If your snake is not eating, try placing the pinkies in the water, maybe even having a live fish or two in the water with a pinkie. In the frenzy trying to capture the fish, the hognose will likely encounter the pinkie and not even notice the difference. I've gotten garter snakes started on pinkies this way.



As for mice in the wild, the old farmers swore to me that hognosed ate mice, and one farmer had a mouse colony living in a dirt pile on his property. He said one day he found a hognosed stuffed in one of the mouse holes, apparently just sucking them down as he found them. Again, this was in NM, with western hognosed.



Katrina

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