Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A bunch of WC GMH and spotted HN are showing up in pet shops.
They don't seem very popular. Why is this don't they make good captives ?
Whos keeping them, whos breeding them ?
How strong is their venom, I'v read conflicting reports on this ?
Thanks for you time.

picked it up from an animal shelter.

I've heard conflicting reports on their venom, too. They get big-mines about 5 feet and probably a bit bigger than the girth of a soda can.

I just treat mine like a hot and am very careful when handling.

On the contrary, they do well in captivity, easy to convert onto mice etc, great temperament, wc females musk a lot but i only ever got bitten by a baby, it itched and stung,swelled for about 4 hours and was gone!!!
I have 1.2 adult giants, 3.2 speckled and 2.2 blondes, all currently cooled for breeding.

i have only been lucky enough to breed the speckleds so far!

As far as the giants getting to 5'....my male is 7, one female is 6' and the other short and fat at 5.5' The male probably weighs 15lbs!
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www.hognose.co.uk

I've kept a male giant mad hog for the last 2 1/2 years and have enjoyed every minute of it. At first, I treated him as a "hot" but after a while realized that he was very mellow and has never attempted to bite me. He'll hiss sometimes, but that's it. I can't even get him to puff up his throat.

The first winter I kept him, he went off feed for about 3 1/2 months and lost about 5% of his body weight. Last winter he went off feed for about 7 weeks. So far this year he's showing no signs of slowing down. (by this time over the past 2 years he would not have been feeding)

He's about 5 1/2 ft and 1600 grams. He has put on alot of weight since I've had him, but has only grown about 6"-8". I assume it's the females of the species that attain 7ft +???

He's one of the snakes in my collection that I would never consider selling/trading. I can't say that about every snake...

Florida just recently put them on the "hot" list and you are required to carry a venomous permit to have them.

And before anybody in FL gets in an uproar because you have one, and have had it for years....please call FL Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and speak to a Captain West. As I said, it is a new thing.
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Jenea
Guardian Reptiles

"The beatings will continue until morale improves!"

My male is the longest but hes the oldest too.
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www.hognose.co.uk

I think they are really cool. They cross the line, though, into BIG snake territory. I think that's why they are less popular. You're not going to keep one for its lifetime in a 20 long.

Nanci
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*****
0.0.1 Normal Corn, 0.0.1 Cali King 0.1 Nelson's Milk
0.1 Tricolor Hog, 0.0.1 Eastern Hog, 1.0 Eastern Box Turtle
0.0.2 Desert Torts, 2.0 Feral Pigeons