Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK my western hognose is a finiky eater, particularly in winter - but I have success by putting pinkie mice in a small container with the snake and putting the container somewhere dark so that he has no distractions. Works every time.

Same here! i just got my hognose that hasn't eaten in about 2 yrs (well he ate 1ce but that shuldnt count cuz he regurgitated it) because of a fungi (Rhisopus i think, or something like that).

I have never heard of a snake getting an infection of Rhizopus. Are you sure? Rhizopus is a fairly harmless fungus in non-immunecompromised individuals.

How was this diagnosed? Did they determine how your snake got infected?
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Chris Harrison

Yes, they get it in the mouth though, unlike humans. it just rots away the mouth. The only way to get rid of it was we had to give it some medication in the mouth 1ce a day, clean the water bowl 2x a day and switch cages evry other day. it was a major pain, but finally got rid of it for the second time, hopefully it will stay gone now.

O, i forgot to answer the rest of the question, they took a culture of some of the tissue in the mouth and sent it in, and found out that way. I think he got it at a reptile show where i bought him, because he had eaten before i bought him and 1ce after i bought him and then just stopped. it took a yr before we finally got a new vet because our old one moved away. Then we have had it off and on for the last yr and he ate yesterday. We are going to keep treating him for another 2 weeks tho just in case.

Your onto something here!!!!!!!!!....I read your post and tried it and it worked. I thought my hog was next to death, it has eatten once in 7 months. I put him in a deli cup and in a dark spot and whamo, on pinky down the hatch. Thanks for the great idea.

AWESOME!!!! That is great news. I have been feeding him 'in the dark' all year. Sometimes he still won't eat his f/t hopper. But so far pinkies in the dark in a small cup - works. I think he is just not very smart and needs to be without distractions to 'zone in' on his mouse.

PS try more than one pinky next time - I fed mine 3 last week.
I'd like to try live fuzzies next.

This actually a rudimentary feeding method for snakes. I am concerned that your snake would go for 7 months without feeding without you trying someting as simple as this (it should have been one of the first things you tried). 7 months without is very serious. I hope that you do a lot of reading up, especially the link below, and become familiar with the various feeding methods that are need for hognoses.
click here for the link

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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

Sorry to have offended you, I guess I was not born with that type of insight. Well, thanks for the late info and being a wet towel to our happiness

If you can't take criticism and advice that will drastically alter the lifespan of a living animal, then your hognose is doomed. Take this seriously and start reading.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)