Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a male 07 Western Hognose that I bought from a dealer last summer. From the day I got him he's been a pig, eating multiple thawed pinkies or live pinkies at every opportunity. He was growing and eating just great for about 6 months. This past spring - around May - he started refusing food. All pinkies, whether thawed or live. I even tried a fuzzy or two to no avail. He's drinking fine, appears to be maintaining weight (but not gaining), and still hisses loudly when I interupt him. Any ideas? Nothing has changed in his environment. He hasn't had a heater on him since the winter, he's kept at room temp (70-80), as I live in Colorado and have native Western Hognose in my neighborhood I'm figuring he should do well in the native climate. Any ideas? Do snakes ever just "turn off" eating like this, even after they've been well-started? It's been a few months now and I'm beginning to get worried. My plan was to purchase a female and try to breed them eventually, but I'm wondering know what's going on with my male. Any ideas would be much appreciated. PS - I'm not an expert, nor am I new to snake keeping. I've had hognose before, as well as corns, boas, and currently have a pair of Womas that are doing just fine. Thanks.

I have the same problem, so I feel your pain. I got my lil hoggie from Guardian Reptiles and she ate perfectly at first, but stopped almost a month ago. I'm starting to realize that this is very common with these snakes. As long as the snake isn't losing weight or visibly appearing weak, then I'm not going to worry about it. I will just keep trying every 5 days and hope for the best. I also stopped handling mine just to make sure it's not getting stressed out. Mine is 25 grams and 10 months old.

hey guys,
first off i wouldnt worry about them going off feed. somtimes hoggies just do this ive had some of my best feeders do it for months and months. what i usually try and do is wait a minimum of 2-3 weeks after i can tell they arnt interested in food that way they get nice and hungry. somtimes i just wait till they shed and that usually stimulates a good feeding responce. i also keep my western hogs alittle warmer then the rest of my colubrids i keep my cool side at around 82-83 and the warmer side 88-89.

good luck

joe schmidt

what type of day/night cycle do you use? i keep mine at the same temps as you, but if i provide a night cycle, then it goes down to low 70s without the lamp on. i can't decide if i would keep the light on 24/7 or if i should leave on the timer so it goes off 8 hours a day

i live in nevada so it gets real hot during the day and cools off quite a bit at night.i keep my lighting to the seasons right now im on a 14 and 10 and i never let my hogs go below 78 i use helix thermostats, fans and a small ac to keep my snake rooms ambiant temp in the low 80s then use heat tape and a rack system on a timer to bump up the temps were i like them during the day.
i only run the heat tape for 16 hours in a 24 hour period.
also i always feed at the same time on the same days of the week,and make sure i feed them just the right amount alittle less is better then to much.imagine eating aweeks worth of hamburgers all in one sitting. in my opinion small meals more often works better and keeps a solid consistant feeding responce. i usually have my females up to breeding size(300 grams) in 12 -15 months and my males usually take no more than a year.
these 2 ladys are 07' hold backs both are gravid and before breeding were over 300 grams.

joe schmidt

My advice is to weight him, and monitor that weekly.

I would not start to worry until he starts loosing weight.

I had a hog go for 4 months, without eating, and did not lose a single gram.