Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had 2 madagascar speckled hogs for about 2 months now and I have only been able to get the male to eat once(prekilled mouse) and my female just does not want anything to do with food.I have tried live , prekilled, f/t, sented with house gecko, sented with frog,and even braining the mice and all they do is hiss at the food and back away. I do not handle them but maybe once a week if that. they are in separate enclosures. I keep the warm side at 88-90 F room temp is about 75 F . Humidity is at about 70%. Is it me or are they just as stubborn as my ball pythons when it comes to eating. Any help to get these two to eat would be great. thanks Greg

Try getting your hands on some day old chicks or live bullfrogs. Let us know how it works out.

Gregz,
I feel your frustration--my female speckled drove me crazy for over a year. Even though she came to me as a rescue, I figured that since she was wild caught, the whole captivity thing was stressful. So, I took her to the vet, treated her for gut parasites, and then let her settle into her environment for several weeks before even attempting to feed her. She tends to be very shy, so I give her a substrate of aspen to burrow in and several cork bark pieces to hide under as well as a fake plant/log combo. I've found an ambient temp of 78 to work well with a warm belly heat spot of 90, as well as misting the tank every morning. Then, as now, I keep handling to a minimum.

Scenting didn't work, so I just kept trying different types of rodent food items until she became hungry enough (and skinny enough) to make a choice. Three years later, she now eats 5-7 f/t pink rats every seven days, and is healthy. The lack of fur and the pinks offered at room temp seem to be key.

I hope this helps. It was just a process of trial and error before I found what works for her. I wish you the best--this is a cool species.

Thanks a lot for your help I have been going nuts trying to figure out what the secret combo is to get these two to eat. I'll try you ideas and give you an update as soon as I can get them going. They are both breeding age but for now I want to get their weights up before that is even a consideration. thanks again Greg