Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I'm a first time Hoggy owner, and boy, do I love my baby. I am troubled, however, because at almost 2 years old, he is still rather small--in my opinion, and compared to the full-grown specimen I saw at the Vivarium where I got mine. A supposed male, Piglet (yes, he has a name) is approximately 1.25 feet long, and maybe 1 inch or 3/4 inches wide. I was under the impression he was to be about 2 feet long, and about 3 inches wide. Rather looking like a longish banana, stubby and fat. He is more like a wriggling pencil--thin and long in a small way.

Now, that being said, he eats great, whenever he wants to. I offer food more than he wants. It seems like he's healthy and quite happy (for a snake, I guess). So maybe I am just paranoid? But I remember that at about 9 months old, my old corn snake (female) was at the peak of her growth--about 3-4 feet long, and darned thick, and eating like mice were going out of style.

So comparing a voracious female corn snake to a semi-lazy hognose snake is probably like comparing apples and oranges: both are snakes, but really nothing alike.

Can someone reassure me that he's just a small specimen? Or am I dealing with something more serious?

Tank set up is wonderful, heating more than perfect, water and temperature is all great. Like I said, he eats well, and is offered far more than he wants to consume.

I'd appreciate the feedback!

Thanks!

Hi again! I actually measured Piglet, and he is a scale over 16 inches long, and 3/4 of an inch wide (a little less). I was using a large measuring tape and I had to roughly estimate because the tape measure is metal and I didn't want to hurt him while measuring. So he's a little shorter than I anticipated, and a bit thinner than I thought. But everything else holds true.

Thanks again!!

Sorry nobody has responded to your questions, but I have a few questions myself. What kind of hognose is it? Eastern? Western? Southern? Tricolor? Can you provide a picture of it? A picture would definitely help to determine if it healthy.
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Louie

Oops! Piglet is a Western hognose. Captive born and purchased at the Vivarium in Berkeley, CA.

As far as healthy is concerned, he eats well, his scales are beautiful, he defecates regularly and greatly, and well, he's generally a darling, well-behaved, gentle little snake. Operative word being little.

The snake I was shown at the Vivarium oh so long ago was a stubby, largish (width-wise) snake with the characteristic snub nose of Western hogs. I believe that it was a female, an obviously full-grown in the prime of life female. But I had always assumed the males were comparable in size...

I think the bottom line is that since he is a healthy snake in all possible ways, I should just get off my high horse about size and enjoy my little buddy!!

By the way, I am personally a very small person. Perhaps I have taken his stature (or lack thereof) too personally?

Thanks for the input!

If it is a male western that size would be normal. My males tend to be thinner than females of the same length. Some of my females are double the weight of a male of the same length.

I had a male Mexican hognose years ago and he was the exact same size as yours when he passed at appr. 15 years of age.

To my knowledge, male hognoses usually do not get anywhere near the size as females do.

Take care!
Billy
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Genesis 1:1