Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After much thinking i decided i want to get a western hognose for my next snake (have a pair of king snakes, sinaloan milk and yellow anaconda) so keeping snakes is nothing new to me..i had a few questions though
i've heard conflicting stories about feeding them frogs. I'm wondering if a diet based primarily on rodents with an occasional frog supplimented is a good idea, is it safe to keep them just on mice? i've heard they can contract fatty liver disease that way. What are anyone's thoughts on feeding anoles or house gecko's? is that a safe suppliment?
I want to get an idea of what the "perfect" diet for a western hognose might be, any advice would be appreciated..also as far as thier tank setup goes i'm assuming they can be kept on aspen shavings with a large waterbowl? if not please tell me

thanks in advance for any advice

James

feeding mice is a matter of convenience and poses no health risk . several people have kept hognose for ten or more years on mice only. and if you do feed them toads or other food items they might be very difficult to get back on mice again..the housing you mentioned sounds fine.

Western hognoses can be fed exclusively mice without any supplements. It is the eastern species that has been contested to develop fatty liver disease. But this is a matter of urban myth rather than of fact, it has never been proven.

The problem with feeding frogs (or lizards) to hognoses is that they will be a continual source of parasite contamination, which would require deworming on a much more frequent basis than if they were fed mice alone. Another problem is that there is no captive bred source for feeders, this means taking animals out of the wild just to feed a pet snake.

Your proposed setup is fine, however hognoses will take advantage of a branch to climb on.

This matter has been hotly contested on this forum, check out some of the previous discussions.
click here for the link...

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*Humans aren't the only species on earth... we just act like it.

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

I wouldn't feed wild caught animals to feed westerns. It's a lot more practical to feed mice unless you are running some kind of frog breeding facility.

n/p