Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

I purchased a western hognose (apparently captive bred, though the seller was this seedy old lady so I'm wondering now) at a herp show 2 weeks ago. He's about 18" long and I've tried feeding him 3 times but he won't take anything.

The lady swore he was a very easy feeder, claiming he'd take anything dead or alive that you put in front of him. I do not use live mice, I buy fresh frozen and thaw them in the sun. Live is not an option, and I'm not one of these Beavis herps who buys snakes just to watch them kill something! Anyway, I've tried ex-breeders and fuzzies, and he doesn't even seem to acknowledge their presence. I've tried both shaking them in front of him and leaving them in front of his hidebox. Heck, when I read that they eat eggs in the wild, I even took some dud eggs from my zebra finches' nest and put them in a little nest in his tank, but no dice.

I know 2 weeks is far from worry period, but can anyone offer any pointers. Obviously, there's not much lit on hognoses...I'm not new to snakes either: I have a ball, green tree, Pueblan milk, and a CA king as well.

Have you tried a toad? Or scenting with a toad? That may be an option for you.
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2.2 Eastern Hogs
0.1 Southern Hog
0.1 Corns

I don't know where I'd get one. There isn't much wildlife here. How do you scent with a toad? Is there a spray or something?

Try scenting with tuna from a can, in water...not oil. As rediculous as this sounds I tried it and it worked on my Hoggs that refused even toads! I mentioned it to Casey Lazik a few years ago and it worked for him as well...he had some high dollar Hoggs! Just soak the prey in the tuna juice for 20 mmin or so....try it. Let me know how it works for you.

Just to let you know your not the only one i have the same snake and i had the same problem. Slitheringherps is correct with feeding it a frog. i was going on a month with my snake not eating finally i was told to try a tree frog. The frog was in the tank for a while then one night decided to eat it. So my advice to you is see if you can order some tree frogs from the classified ads on kingsnake. But i know of very few hognoses that eat mice. hopefully this is helpful.

Thanks. Man, I'm soooooo angry at myself for trusting that dealer. She swore he was easy to feed and ate mice.

But when you look up hognoses, it generally says the easterns are toad-eaters and the westerns are egg, lizard and rodent eaters.

Ans about that spray, is there some way to try that? I don't relish the idea of ordering live tree frogs for the entire life of this animal.

I wouldn't go so hard on the breeder/dealer. It has only been 2 weeks. I have a male about the same size that I have had since early this year, and he certainly won't eat for me every time. Keep trying, a live fuzzy rat might get his attention (does with mine) if you are unable to find a frog/toad to scent with.
Best of luck!
Roxanne

Quit worrying. It takes time. New enclosure, new surroundings...... Give him time to acclimate . Keep offering food weekly and when he is hungry and in the mood, he will eat. If I got worried every time one of my westerns quit eating for 2 weeks or even a month, I'd have to quit the hobby. Be patient.

LOL, thanks King!