Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, its been a good while since I have had any venomous species and I am thinking of rejoining your ranks! I have narrowed my feild down to a few genus in pirticular and think I have made up my mind. Yes my friends, I am going to get a Hognose snake! LOL

Ok, a far cry from anything note worthy like Naja, Atheris, Aspidelaps or Agkistrodon but hey, they are cute, colorfull and most importantly, venomous!!

Anyway, on to my question.

I have a foundness to the eastern hognose but it seems to me they are rather stuborn and switching them on to rodents can be quite difficult. I know the westerns are easier, or atleast I have been told but their color scheme is lacking in my eyes.

Basicly, id realy like am eastern but have no idea as to where to start looking and if anyone breeds them with any sort of regularity.

I know its a shot in the dark but can anyone point me in the right direction? If not i will go to the hognose forums but I like the crowd here better ^^

BTW, if I cant find one I will probaly change my scope entirely and go for a pair of False water cobras. Trying to avoide anymore gigantic species however since I have enought with my damn Pitupohis >.>

Anyway guys, thanks in advance! BTW, any pointers on switching hognose over would be welcomed! I have alot of experince with stingy neonates but am always up for new suggestions!

Take care!

I've kept and hatched eastern hogs before and have found even fresh w.c. ones to be voracious feeders on anything that at all smells like a toad. I had a large female lay 23 eggs for me shortly after I caught her (and had no idea she was gravid). From these I hatched 25 babies (two sets of twins) with a range of colors. They were awesome little animals and seems quite disproportionate - with heads and necks too large to fit their bodies. They all began feeding immediately, some even before their first sheds, on toad-scented pinks. I kept a toad in the freezer and would pull it out and rub the pinks on it. Even while frozen, the toad gave the pinks enough scent that the babies took them immediately. In fact, I had to watch my fingers and make sure they didn't smell like toads!

I really think it's a shame that more people don't try to breed this species. They're extremely variable in coloration, from smokey grays, to bright reds and oranges, to pitch black. They reach a respectable size, certainly larger than westerns. They tend to keep their displaying tendences in captivity more often than westerns. And, at least the ones I've kept temporarily were quite active and would cruise the cage randomly at any time of the day. Unfortunately, I don't know of any breeder working with easterns to whom I could refer you, but keep an eye on the classifieds and see what pops up.

Now as far as the fwcs, since you mentioned them as a possibility, I'd probably be torn over which of these two species to recommend. Certainly hogs stay a much more manageable size than fwcs, and they could be considered quite a bit less dangerous. I've heard here and there that fwcs can give a nasty bite with some fun (sarcasm) local effects if not removed quickly enough. These snakes are awesome though, and the pair I had were great fun to work with. They don't particularly enjoy being held, as they're highly terrestrial and are just completely awkward when lifted off the ground, but they too are diurnal and make great display animals. The only thing you have to watch with them is the feeding response, which as I'm sure you're aware is legendary. If the scent of food is in the air, these snakes can turn from gentle giants to monsters biting at any movement.

Oh, one other thing I should mention is that though adults tend to be very docile, juveniles can be easily provoked and will bite with little hesitation. Though they are only opistoglyphs and not very 'advanced' ones at that, their potential should always be considered.

Best of luck with whatever choice you make. I think either species can be great captives.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

Thanks for the reply. I have a very good friend that breeds FWC every year so thats an easy route if I so choose. The venom concern isnt a concern since I have alot of past experince with venomous (Ive kept Naja, Aspidelaps, Agkistrodon, Atheris, Trims, Boiga etc) and will treat it like a full fledged hot. I gave up on hots a few years ago due to an allergic reaction I was developing from my pallida. ; ; Unfortunately FWC are about as hot a snake as I will ever own from now on ; ; (I miss my Aspidelaps!!!!!!!!!!!!)

As for the easterns, thank you for the info. Thats more then I have gotten from anyone, even on the Hog forum.

I am very partial to their colors and pattern and am even fond of the melanalistic varient which is common throughout NC. The westerns just dont do it for me color wise.

Im glad to hear they will switch to rodents without too much of a fuss. Now I just have to find CB animals to purchase which dosent seem as easy as one would think >.>

Anyways, thanks for the FYI.

Sorry about my assumption about your past venomous experience tainting my reply. I didn't realize (or remember) who you were until I ran across this same name on vr. Good to see we actually can have a civil discussion once in a while eh?

Anyway, I'm very sorry to hear about you developing an allergic reaction. I too have had the pleasure(?) of keeping and have to clean up after spitters, and I can imagine how easily that crystallized venom could become air-borne. I can also imagine how badly such a development would hurt a long time hot keeper. Definitely better to be safe than sorry though.

I'll keep my eyes open for any cb eastern hogs to come available. I see them from time to time - only rarely though - and even saw some leucies a couple years back. If my state's native herp laws weren't as they are, I'd see if I could help you out more directly. I know I greatly enjoyed working with those baby easterns before we parted ways. It's probably one of the only snakes that can easily be described as 'cute,' even by laypeople.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

I was wondering when you were going to notice it was me LOL I value information from those that know more then I. IN this case you clearly do and I appreciate your info and experinces.

If you recall my main beef from way back when was you lacking to do so.

The past is the past so Im fine with letting the dust settle. Besides, its much more entertaining being uncivilized to good ol Bobby Neal

Later

y would you treat it like a real hot? lol

That comment was in regards to FWC not hognose. Considering I dont keep venomous anymore due to an allergic reaction to them then yes, I will be taking the upmost precaution.

Thanks for your uneeded comment.

Chance,
How long have the E.Hogs lived that were on a rodent diet?
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Tim Cole
www.Designeratrox.com/
www.AustinReptileService.net
www.AustinReptileExpo.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
Conservation through Education

Tim,
I don't know how long Chance's Hog's lived on a rodent diet.
But I had 2 at the zoo that lived for about 7 years on rodents alone, as I couldn't get a supply of toads during the winter. So, I started scent manipulation and after about 5 trys, they were taking unscented mice.

Randal

The female actually died shortly after laying eggs for reasons unknown to me, but I gave the male and the babies to a friend and as far as I know, they did fine on their toad-scented diet. I'm not sure if he has the snakes any longer, as I'm pretty sure he gave away several of the babies to people he knew.

The only detriment I can imagine in regards to feeding an e. hog rodents is feeding them too often and causing fatty buildup on their livers. This happens with snakes that have herp diet specialties and occasionally with varanids even. If western hogs can thrive on rodents though, I'd wager easterns have just a good of a shot.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com

We have an eastern hognose that was scent trained early on and now devours mice straight up. Once you get them feeding on rodents, they are no fussier than westerns. She's 8 years old and showing no signs of slowing down.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
www.thegrassisrattling.com

>>Tim,
>>I don't know how long Chance's Hog's lived on a rodent diet.
>>But I had 2 at the zoo that lived for about 7 years on rodents alone, as I couldn't get a supply of toads during the winter. So, I started scent manipulation and after about 5 trys, they were taking unscented mice.
>>
>>Randal
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

I was just on the python forum and saw this: http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1271826,1271826. Maybe this guy could help you out? Good luck with it.

Derek!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whats up man? I will check it out. I also need to speak with you about a controdiction to my post lol.

Also, for the love of god, please tell your bro to check his email!!

Its good hearing from ya man. We need to get a weekend NC snake hunt planned!

Hope the Juvis are doing good! (i.e the kids)Im will drop you an email today or tomorrow. Still the same right?

Really good hearing from ya man!

All the very best,
Jeremy

Lystrophis Pulcher

http://www.houstonreptile.com/gallery/hogs.html

http://www.hognose.com/pages/care/tri.htm

Our male is now eating f/t mice off of his rock, and the female just graduated from two pinks to three, but you have to put her in a covered dish. Beautiful, easy to care for, and they have all of the traits folks like in hoggies.

Houston Reptile Enthusiasts