Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been assuming that when I get another snake, it will probably be a corn snake or a rat snake. I've kept a ball python in the past. However, I was in the pet store today and they've gotten a couple of baby western hognose snakes in, which they've never had before. These babies are absolutely the cutest things I've ever seen, and friendly... Is there anything I should know about them before making a decision?

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0.1.0 Ball Python - Shaman
1.0.0 Green Iguana - Ike
1.0.0 Tokay Gecko - Fang
2.2.0 Cats - Pumpkin, Furball, Pixie, Stitch
1.0.0 Cockatiel - Ozzy
0.1.0 Budgie - Tweetie
1.0.0 Dwarf Rabbit - Floyd, R.I.P. Rascal
0.0.1 Rat who was too friendly to be eaten - Scabbers

They make awesome pets, just make sure that you do your research first. Check out hognose.com and read through previous posts on this forum to find out everything you need to know about these little beauties.
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2.1 dogs
0.1 cat
1.2 crested geckos ( 10 eggs)
1.2 leopard geckos
0.0.2 Western Hogs

The biggest problem is anorexia. Check through this forum and the archives and you'll see a LOT of posts about people's hogs not eating for no apparent reason. I bet that the hognose forum has the most amount of posts relating to this topic.

Because of their strange behaviors, I don't usually recommend hognoses for snake beginners. You do have some snake experience and that will help. Keep in mind that when trying to get them to eat, you may have to do strange and relatively grotesque things, far and beyond anything you've probably had to do for your BP. Of course, there are plenty of people who never have any problems with their westerns, but you shouldn't count on that.

So, the best thing you can do is to do a lot of reading. Hanging out on this forum is definitely a good place to start.
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Virginia Herping
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VaHS
Virginia Herpetological Society online store
http://www.cafepress.com/vaherpsociety

"The irrational fear of snakes is the only excuse a grown man has... to act like a complete sissy" - Colchicine