Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I read on www.hognose.com that feeding certain species of hognoses strictly a mice diet could cause them to deveop a fatty liver disease. Hognoses remain one of my favorite snakes.
Has anyone ever bred their own toads? I know that western toads smell different than eastern toads and vice versa. I read on some website where someone had an eastern hog piar and hoped to breed them but they had a time gettting them to take the western toads cuz they smelled different. What would be cool if someone came along and bred western toads for the western hognoses and eastern toads for the eastern hognoses. I would love to have a pair of western hognoses someday when I learn more about them.

laterz,
john

I have a quote from Dennis Desmond, the Webmaster of hognoses.com, that says that even he admits there is no real proof of fatty liver disease. I have yet to come across any publications, nor has anybody been able to provide proof that hognoses will die from fatty liver disease as a result of a rodent diet.

No one breeds feeder toads, it's ironic that as ubiquitous as people think they are in the wild, no one has been able to duplicate their habitat and get them to breed in captivity, economically.

My advice: get yourself a Western, feed it mice, and don't worry about it!
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

Thanks,

Western Hognoses are my favorite of the hognoses. Right I have 6 california kingsnakes and 1.1 mexican rosy boas. I would like to get a pair of hognoses when I know more about them and have room for a larger collection.

john

I cannot thank you enough for doing research now before actually getting the hognoses! Too many people get hognoses, and they don't have any business having them. As long as you are aware, and prepared for the snakes not eating and the drastic measures you sometimes have to take, then you can consider getting some! Stick around this forum and you can learn a lot.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

Alot of herps go to the grave early every year simply because their owners do not know enough about them. I have experience with the california kingsnakes and I am gaining experience with the rosy boas. Hognoses remain one of my favorites. The thing about snakes though is that there is always something to learn about them People considering getting any type of snake should learn all they can about it before getting it.

john