Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I purchased a western hognose on Jan. 12th, and he is no bigger than a #2 pencil (about 6-8 inches).

I keep him in a 5.5 gallon tank. I'm using aspen shavings for substrate. He has a hidebox and a water dish. I'm using a lightbulb as a heat source. The hot side is 88-90 and the cool side roughly 75.

He ate a small pinkie 2 days after I purchased him. He hasn't eaten since than. Every week I put a pinkie in his cage, with no success. I've tried placing him in a small container for a few hours with a pinkie and again he's uninterested.

Is there anything I can do? Is this normal? He looks healthy, maybe a little on the lean side.

Please help...all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Peter F.

Peter,

I wouldn't fret too much and worry about it. In my post below you will see my female baby hog. She went 4 months without eating. When I first bought her and the baby male, he ate all the time and she ate once. She went another month without before I put her in cooling for 2.5 months. When she came out she didn't eat for another 2 weeks. I tried the deli cup but it didn't work either. I then used a brown paper sack. I soaked the pinks in hot water in a plastic bag, I dropped the pinks in the bag then put the hogs in there. Make sure you fold the top of the bag three or so times so he will not crawl out. I cut the lights off and left them in for a while. Since then (which was a week ago she has scarfed down 3 and he has eaten two using that method. Also I use room temps for my baby hogs (70-75). I don't believe the cage has to be that hot to get them to eat. I also have them in a ten gallon with aspen bedding.

If you cannot get them to eat contact the breeder and see what method he used to feed the little ones. Also being this time of year will slow them down when feeding.

CW

Are you feeding frozen thawed or live? I have one that trades off eating both. sometimes he likes live and other times he won't eat live and will eat frozen. Also try split brained pinks both frozen and live in a deli cup. if those don't work try toad scented.

good luck.

To put it bluntly, if you have to ask if a nonfeeding hognose is normal then you did not do enough research before buying it. You cannot talk about a captive hognose without mentioning these animals going off feed. It is a fact of life with these snakes and something you should be well prepared for.

With that in mind I have a few suggestions. The hot side may be a little too hot, especially in such a small container. Try cooling it down to 85 at the maximum. It is also not a good idea to feed your snake in its container where it can swallow its substrate. With an animal so small it would not take much to cause an impaction.

It has not even been a month since the last time it ate, and also keep in mind it is the middle of winter. Your best chances are going to be using a frog scented pinkie in a dedicated feeding container. For more feeding tips look below…
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