Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I picked up a pair of normal '10 western hogs a couple of months ago. I am amazed at there feeding response and how quick they put a meal down. I keep alterna and a few milks, but the hogs seem to be bottomless pits! It appears they can take down much larger mice than there body can fit as there mouth is huge. My question is , can I over do it with the size of the meal? Will they eat something to big? I don't want to make them fat, but larger pinks would be easier for me.

I also keep alterna (as well as other lampropeltis) and hogs..

Now, my very first snake was a western hog that was also a bottomless pit. This was before the internet and all the other luxuries we have now. This hog ate only wild caught prey.. minnows, frogs, toads, lizards, and the occasional rodent i could catch alive. I would just throw the food item in there alive (back then i did not know any better). I came home one day to find it dead with a western fence lizard that was aparently too large for it to get all the way down. The fence lizards lower half, its legs, and its tail were sticking out of the poor hogs mouth.

So, yes, you can feed it too large of a food item.
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Chris - TX

2.2 Splendida
1.1 Nigrita
1.1 Ruthveni
1.1 H. nasicus
0.0.3 277 Alterna

From what ive read and been told its best to offer them 2 smaller meals in place of a larger meal. better to digest and to keep them active . and yes mine are the same, had a hog eat a meal and still be surprised on how they fit the mice in .