Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I tried the lizard scent-they will drink the stuff off the pinkies but won't eat the pinky mice. (and yes, they do have access to a full, clean water dish.) I've tried scenting with fence lizard, treefrog, nada. I can't find a toad around here and would rather not have a toad as an extra pet. I've also tried braining pinkies, splitting them open, pinky heads, live, f/t. No interest, they just hiss, musk, and puff up.

I'm not sure what else to do, they are way too tiny to tube-feed without hurting them, the male still has weight-but the female is growing listless, and neither has shed since they got here. Does anyone make toad scent? or am I going to have to spend $5 plus overnight shipping on a toad for these two???

The vet isn't much help either-tested them both for parasites, nothing came up. They are just refusing to eat anything. Heat is fine, my other pair of hognoses eat just fine. *sigh*

thanks for the help.
-Cat
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http://chaoscat.lowerground.net/herps/
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http://www.lowergroundreptiles.net
Lower Ground Reptiles

Here is my "definitive" (not!) insight into hognose feeding. I bought a young male last March. He ate for a couple of months, then took 4-6 weeks off. I posted here on the forum- tried everything. He started eating when I bought a green tree frog and scented. He would take a week or two off from feeding during the next 3 months. Then fall came. He stopped eating again. I tried everything listed on the forum. 5.5 months later after $200 in vet bills, I resigned myself to the fact that he was going to die. He suddenly began eating again. This time he ate for 6 weeks and then stopped again. He just ate after taking yet another 6 weeks off. My conclusion regarding my own snake is that there are reasons for him to fast and I think because he looks healthy and is alive and eating 1.5 years down the road, that his reasons must be "normal" and physiologic for him.
I suspect that your non-feeding hogs either 1. are healthy and will eat when they are ready or 2. are sick and won't. I would probably get a tree frog or toad to scent, just to be sure.

I bought a trio of easterns last year. None would take pinkies scented in any ways and I don't live where there are toads.
Finally after 2 months I resorted to force feeding. A few days later the smallest one died, I feel probably because I waited too long. The other 2 easterns take unscented pinkies now.

This is just my story of misfortune and probably unrelated to you.

If you have waited awhile and your hog still hasn't eaten I'd find an amphibian and put the pinkies nose in it's mouth to get all that amphibian saliva on it. Then take your tongs and put the saliva covered pinkie right on the nose of your hog so that every time it flicks its tounge it smells it. This has been a proven method I have used on my finicky Eastern Hogs and always works on my western.

My guess is that force feeding did it officially. Stress from that could EASILY kill a hognose. Force feeding has never worked well for me. I have lost all sorts of animals to force feeding when I was smaller, ranging from hogs to frogs. Hogs are pretty sturdy snakes and can last a while without food. Hungerstrikes are all too common and even babies might not eat for the first couple of months of their lives. Andy
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Andy Maddox
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

Who are you who can say it's ok to live through me? Alice In Chains

well I did wait 2 months before doing it and who knows when the last time the hog ate.
He was very pale and limp and you can actually see its ribs through the skin.
I still feel like force feeding was it's only chance.

I have had 2 hogs die becuase they would not eat. The first one never ate and just wasted away no matter what I tried. The second one ate the first time, then took a few weeks off, then ate again, then took the next couple of months off. He became very skinny so I force fed him as a last resort and he died within 3 hours(like Andy said, too stressful I found out later from the breeder) The female I got with the male is doing great. She eats everything and is growing well. It sucks going through a "learning curve" with them but hopefully it will work out. Good luck. EP