Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After 5 months of trying to track down the perfect Southern Hognose, this past Thursday...I finally my little gem!
He's a CBB 2 1/2 month old High Red Southern Hog from Tom Pinson ( "tom" ).
He does great with unscented pinkies, and I just can't wait to see what he is going to look like in a year or two!

A big thanks to Tom for this stunning little guy, and the continuing help with everything. Couldn't be happier!

~Alex

You should name him Boomerang, because that is the shape of his fifth saddle from his head! lol
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Robert Charvat
1.1 het albino Western Hognose

LUCKY!!!!
Congrats
Nick

Thanks! lol
I do feel like a pretty lucky guy!

And 99vengeur...thanks for the name idea. I like it!
I think I'm going to call him Boomer for short!

That is sweet!!

Thanks!

Now, I just need to get him to eat consistently for me!
I got him 1 week ago, and since then...he has only eaten 1 f/t small unscented pinkie. He was eating 1 f/t small unscented pinkie every 2 days without a single problem problem for two months before he arrived.
I tried another couple times yesterday, but all he cared about was climbing up the walls or trying to burrow into the plastic.
So, it looks like I'll be trying him again on Saturday.

I really hope that he comes around soon...

Now, I just need to get him to eat consistently for me!
I got him 1 week ago, and since then...he has only eaten 1 f/t small unscented pinkie. He was eating 1 f/t small unscented pinkie every 2 days without a single problem problem for two months before he arrived.

Sweet snake! Don't get discouraged on the feeding part though. If you offer food to him like in the videos that Tom posted previously and keep the husbandry right he'll come around. They spook easy when trying to feed them and once they're spooked forget about them eating,also the babies like the humidity jacked up like around 75-80%,but your going to have to pull the container out at least one or twice a day for fresh air and he should be gorging on pinks every 2-3 days and passing every one! It's amazing how the right humidity and the way you offer food to these guys makes a huge difference in how they do. Good Luck!

Thanks for the compliment and the adivce Kevin.

Yeah, I have watched the videos Tom posted a number of times, and try to mimic him. (Tom is who I bought him from, so I have been in continual contact with him, and he is trying to help me out the best that he can.)
The humidity in the room is about 77, and temps are in the low to mid 80s during the day and upper 70s at night.
Tom thinks that I may have had him in too big of a cage, that is why he doesn't want to eat after I move him to a plastic container.
Now I have him in a smaller cage, and I am just going to try to feed him right in it on Saturday. (That will make 7 days since he ate last.) I think that it is kind of weird though that when I got him to feed the first time, it was 2 days after he arrived and I had him in the big cage).
As more time goes by, the more worried I get...simply because I know how often he should and was eating before he arrived. I can't think of anything else that I could be doing wrong, some I am just going to keep trying ever 2 days to offer him a small f/t unscented pinky...until he finally decides to eat, or if I guess Tom thinks it has been too long and I need to try something else.

Have any of your hatchling CBB southerns ever went of feed for no reason? (He has plenty of energy and curiosity and is not scared by the pinky...which like you said, would cause him not to feed. He simply ignores it completely and tries to either climb the sides of the bin or he rubs his face along the plastic bottom...no matter how much I move the pinky around. It can be very frustrating.)
In your opinion, how long can one go before it should be considered a serious issue?

Thanks,
Alex

Have any of your hatchling CBB southerns ever went of feed for no reason? (He has plenty of energy and curiosity and is not scared by the pinky...which like you said, would cause him not to feed. He simply ignores it completely and tries to either climb the sides of the bin or he rubs his face along the plastic bottom...no matter how much I move the pinky around. It can be very frustrating.)
In your opinion, how long can one go before it should be considered a serious issue?

Yes,my babies from the wildcaught mom have gone off and on feed for various reasons. What your describing is pretty typical hognose behavior. Stick to small containers that hold humidity well,that you can also provide fresh air too,very important when dealing with that much humidity! Aquariums are about the worst thing for any sub-tropical animal,they're pretty much dehydration boxes. In my opinion the best thing to do with any baby hog is powerfeed it what it wants untill it develops the size and aggressive feeding response you desire and after that they'll eat just about anything. Try braining the pink or just rubbing the head of the pinkies in a frog's mouth,that worked with all 13 of my babies and they're all 12-15 inches long now and very alive and well. The eastern hog in the top pic is a late 06 and is about 24 inches long now just off rodents,no powerfeeding. A.C. owns that snake now.

Well, I was keeping him in a small Vision cage that I had lying around for who knows how long, but Tom said that it may be too big and he may not be able to focus on feeding after being moved into a seperate container.
So now he is just in a small plastic bin with paper towel and water. I don't mist or do anything special to raise the humidity in the cage because like I said previously, the room humidity is around 77 or slightly higher on some days and I thought that is high enough. Do you disagree?
Also, so when I try to feed him tomorrow morning...I will just lift the paper towel and offer him the pinkie without having to move him at all. I hope it works.
I really, really don't want to resort to spilt braining or scenting simply because this line is a multiple generation unscented rodent feeding line, and he has fed without one problem, every other day, on small unscented f/t pinkies since birth (roughly 2.5 months ago). This is also true fro 99% of his clutchmates.
Lastly, I was just wondering what you thought...how long could a well started 2.5 month old southern hog go without feeding before you would start to get worried? I don't know if you even could answer that question because I guess it really depends on if he is loosing weight. (Maybe I should run out and get a cheap gram scale.)

Well, I was keeping him in a small Vision cage that I had lying around for who knows how long, but Tom said that it may be too big and he may not be able to focus on feeding after being moved into a seperate container.
So now he is just in a small plastic bin with paper towel and water. I don't mist or do anything special to raise the humidity in the cage because like I said previously, the room humidity is around 77 or slightly higher on some days and I thought that is high enough. Do you disagree?
Also, so when I try to feed him tomorrow morning...I will just lift the paper towel and offer him the pinkie without having to move him at all. I hope it works.
I really, really don't want to resort to spilt braining or scenting simply because this line is a multiple generation unscented rodent feeding line, and he has fed without one problem, every other day, on small unscented f/t pinkies since birth (roughly 2.5 months ago). This is also true fro 99% of his clutchmates.
Lastly, I was just wondering what you thought...how long could a well started 2.5 month old southern hog go without feeding before you would start to get worried? I don't know if you even could answer that question because I guess it really depends on if he is loosing weight. (Maybe I should run out and get a cheap gram scale.)

The minimum requirements for a baby southern in my collection would be direct access to belly heat on one side of the container,they will use it! Also,I believe a small plastic container(mealworm container)with a hole cut in the top for entry filled with moist moss,not wet,is a must! They'll constantly go from the heat tape or panel to the moist hide,almost a 50/50 split,but sometimes mine will stay in their humid hides for days even up to 2 weeks if they're going to shed without even sticking they're heads out. A paper towel and water bowl may work perfect in some people's collection,but may not work at all for you so you have to figure out what your snake wants. Even if your snake doesn't eat for weeks you should be okay just as long as it doesn't get dehydrated. I keep the waterbowls level with the bedding untill they get bigger. You'll have to decide for yourself ultimately whether you want to scent or not. Just because you scent lightly when their young doesn't mean they will require scenting as adults by any means. I don't think anybody really can give an exact recipe for keeping this species,all you can do is offer them what they want and need and see what happens. Okay,I'm done. Good luck! Keep us posted on how he does!

Thanks a bunch Kevin for your thoughts!

I tried split braining yesterday and hopped it around, left it in there in the dark, and in the light...still nothing.
He is still plump and active, and he always as access to fresh water. Again I keep the room warm and humid, so I don't have any belly heat. I did have a moss container like you said to have when he was in the big cage, but I can't fit it in the little bin I have him in now. I only have him in there so that he doesn't have to be moved or get nevervous when I offer him food. (That is what Tom said would be best.) Obviously though, I will give him access to a moist hide when he starts going into shed.
I will try him again tomorrow, and again and agin after that until he eats! lol
I also caught a Cuban Tree frog yesterday, and I was wondering...if it came down to it, would scenting with it possibly work or typically do they go for just toad scent?
Also, is there any chance to transfer germs/parasites by rubbing a pinky on a live WC frog?
Hopefully though, I'll get the little thing to eat one of these days in the near future and not have to scent. (Tom honestly feels that if I get to a point where I am so worried about him not eating that I was going to start scenting, then there is a good chance that I am doing something wrong, or something else is up...being that he was one of his best feeders before he sent him to me and would chase the pinkie across the bin and grab it every time.)

I sold a few really great eaters that stopped eating for a few weeks after they were sold,but started up eating again no problem. I always noticed that these southerns in particular seem to go absolutely BANANAS when you clean their cage. I always try to spot clean as much as I can till the big day of dumping all they're bedding. lol As soon as I put them back in that clean fresh cage its nothing but digging to China for hours till they get exhausted. Its only aspen bedding???

I wouldn't use a cuban to scent your pinky with. You want to stick to native frogs and toads if you decide to scent.

Ok then, I guess I'll get rid of the frog.

(Why did you put "Its only aspen bedding???"? What do you mean? If you are asking about my setup, I was using Sani Chips in the big cage...but now I just have him on a few layers of paper towels.)

Also, yeah...I guess it is not unusual for a snake to go off feed for a few weeks after arrival (even if he fed great before).
The only problem I still have though, is why would he eat 2 days after he came and then not again???
I figured if he still needed time to get used to things here that he wouldn't have eaten the first time.

BTW I tried feeding him again just now...and no interest at all. It is soooo frustrating that I can hop the pinky right up to his face (a fraction of an inch away) and he doesn't even notice it! He just keeps trying to burrow or climb the walls. I also hop it around far away from him (like Tom showed in his videos, but that doesn't get his interest either). I can even touch him with it and he won't even take a glance at it.

I do not have a scale (I may need to get one)...but towards his tail looks a little skinnier than it did when he arrived. The upper 2/3 of his body though, still looks pretty thick.