Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I've kept a small group of westerns for the past few years but have not been interested in breeding them until recently. I have kept and bred a few other snakes...most ball pythons...but now i'm wanting try these guys. I have a few general questions about the process and their care. First, what type of containers do most people keep their hogs in? Will a rack system work for these guys? If so, what size of tubs would be best? Since I have so few, I have always kept them in tanks. Secondly, what is considered the standard weight and or size for these guys to start breeding? Third, what target temps should I maintain during the warm period (hot and cool spots)? And what temps should I maintain for cooling?

Thanks,

W. Smith

Males do good in 12-15 quart bins. Females are good in 28-32 quart size tubs.

I personally like the ARS Racks. I'm planning to get some this year. I currently keep my females in the 3033 size tubs in a rack I built.

Males can breed around 50-60 grams and females should be over 200+ grams or closer to 250+ grams before breeding.
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Greg Bennett

I think that racks are better for hognose that terrariums. They love to dig so high tanks are pointless. I think that hogs stress less in racks.

Best regards
Grzegorz
HognoseLimited
Link

I am noe expert but here is how I do things...

I use rack systems...
80 grams and under are housed in 6 quart bins... Over 80 grams and they are moved into 16 quarts... I do not have any really huge hogs at this point so I have not had the need to move them into anything larger... My biggest is 185 grams and has plenty of room in her 16 quart...

My temps are...
90 to 92 degree hot spot with a cool ambient temp that ranges between 78 and 82 depending on the outside room temp... At these temps my snakes eat tons and grow very fast...

I am currently brumating a pair of hogs at 54 dgrees in 6 quart tubs filled 3/4 the way up with aspen inside of a larger dark tub... So far so good...

This is a picture of a level for my new female hognose rack. It's made from 2x4's, 1x4's and 1/8" expanded PVC. This rack with 33 tubs cost less than $500.00 to build.

The inside measurements of the tubs are around 14" X 20". I like the bus tubs because they're made of a really thick plastic and are easy to clean.
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Greg Bennett

Where did you get the expanded pvc and how did you lay the holes out so perfectly? Did you use cnc?

-Jon

The plastic came from a local plastic company called AIN Plastics. I had them cut the 4'x8' sheets for me.

I took my time and made a 1" grid along one piece and then clamped all the pieces together and slowly drilled the holes one by one. There are 108 1/4" holes above each bin.

I took lots of pictures and plan to do a write-up on how to build this rack.

I'm also building some racks to hold 54 Vision V-18 tubs for my baby hogs, rats, and boas. It's hard to beat the Vision baby tubs for the money.

The baby rack will be made from 1/2" expanded PVC. I plan to route the side pieces so the shelves will slide into the sides and then just put a couple screws per shelve to hold everything together.

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Greg Bennett