Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, my male hognose stopped feeding about 2-3 weeks ago. he's about 7 inches long and acts totally normal still, very active. I'm not worried and was really amazed at how well of an eater he was when i first got him. My question is how do you know when he'll start to feed again. I initially tried about every 5 days but now i've given up and waited over a week. he still refused. Is there any way to tell when he will start again or do i need to continue with trial and error and waste more pinkies?

I just posted about this problem the other day. I'm having the exact same problem with 2 out of 3 hogs. Having never owned them before, it's a bit disconcerting. I'm used to ball pythons not feeding for months at a time, but not any colubrids. My hogs are fairly small (like yours) so I didn't try and cool them or anything; just kept business as usual.

Its been about three weeks now for me. One of the three eats all the time.... I guess I'll just ride it out. Only one person replied to my post and they reported a similar occurrence. Sucks though.... not knowing.

I've lost baby snakes before and its never fun but its worse when its a new species for you and don;t know if you have all the facts. Maybe someone will respond with more insight. Good luck.

-Jason
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1.1 Blood Pythons
0.1 California King
1.1 Het-Albino Redtails (BCI)
1.2 Redtails (BCC)
1.2 Western Hognose
0.1 Graybanded King
1.0 Mexican Milsnake
1.0 Thayeri Kingsnake
0.1 Elaphe Taenura ssp.
4.2 Ball Pythons
0.2 Fat Lazy Cats
0.1 Black Lab-Chow mix

These are the pets. The 'business' critters
aren't listed. I'm looking for mates for some of the singles above....

If it were me,I would only offer every 2 weeks at the most. If they get hungry one week it wouldn't hurt them to wait another. I also like to tell people that it would be very beneficial to get an accurate scale to keep track of their weights. Usually during their off feed times they won't lose much weight. A sudden, or drastic loss in mass would signal a pathogenic condition. This why I don't recommend hogs for beginners, it's important to be able the tell the difference between normal winter lethargy and an illness.
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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)

My male hognose is currently off feed. Last winter (his first) he took 6 months off. I went bananas, took him to the vet twice. The one day he suddenly began eating again. This year when he went off feed I put him in the cold garage for 2 months. It has warmed some and he is back in the house now. I have learned from him-- he will eat when he feels like it. I agree give 2 weeks between attempted feedings and just be patient the snake knows what he needs.

Thanks for the information. I have years of experience with sporadically eating ball pythons and have kept many various species of pythons, boas, and colubrids but these are my first trio of Hogs. It just goes to show that if you're not used to a particular species, sometimes you just don't know what to expect, no matter how much experience you have. My biggest concern is that mine are tiny little guys and I'm "gun-shy" about small snakes, having lost neonates in the past. I equate small size with frailty due to my experience with kings etc.