Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well....here is my story

I've been wanting a western hog...for years now...finally...i got one. You see I know someone that works at a petstore nearby they are very very good(not like a petco, or filthy a petstore with sick animals)...anyways he has known I have been looking for a baby western hognose(preferably a few weeks old) well...4 weeks ago they got one in. He was more along the lines of a yearly(about.. 11 inches maybe) and he seemed pretty healthy...so one week after they got him...i took him home(had to get the money together for another set up and such) for the first few days i let him be in his new home and did not bother him....I noticed...he really dosen't burrow under the substrate at all...I thought he would(oh btw I'm using aspen bedding with paper towels underneath that, he has a water dish and two hides that are a good size for him not to high ect.)anyways..a week later i tried offering him a frozen thawed pinkie...he turned away from...and refused to take it...two days later i tried a pinkie scented with lizard maker...he shyed away from it....I had been offering his food with a pair of forceps...i figured he may not be used to that because he would just flatten his neck out and hiss....so i tried placing him in a deli cup with a lid and plenty of vent holes with two frozen thawed pinkies....to no avail...i tried as many other tricks over the past few weeks to try to get him to eat...and nothing...i tried spilt braining, lizard marker, egg white, cat food(someone suggested the fish flavored cat food) nothing at all. i find it odd however that he still poops regularly....anyways...i was wondering..if maybe i got a wild caught....and maybe i should return him, and get oen from one of the well known online breeders(west texas reptiles to name one) or shoudl i keep trying....I'm only getting worried because as far as i know he has not eaten in a month(maybe longer), he appears to be slightly skinny(and i mean slightly)and i'm just worried he may be a wildcaught....

oh and i suck at typing...so excuse grammer and spelling mistakes

but i would like some input...on whether i should return him or not...or should i keep trying...ill post a picture of him(or her) tonight as well

...here is one picture

and another

That is a really nice snake. How warm are you keeping the snake? Sometimes raising the temps will help. I have a female that goes through long periods without wanting food and then suddenly will eat scented. I also have males that will go off feeding when they want to breed. It would be good to know how old your snake is. It could be old enough to want to breed, and be wanting a mate.
Another thing you might want to try is moving the enclosure to a different part of your house. Sometimes their is a smell or something else that might stress the animal.
Their are several reasons your snake might not be eating.
Given that you tried all those feeding methods and nothing worked, I would be concerned too. If you are attached to that snake, I would take it to a vet and get a full physical done on it to check on parasites or any other problem.
If you are not attached to the little hoggie and the seller will take it back, I would return it.
Whatever you do, dont release it into the wild.
In the future, I would avoid buying reptiles from pet stores. You have the best selection of reptiles right here on kingsnake.com
Hardy and renegade reptiles are about to have several nice hoggs for sell not to forget gateway city reptiles and west texas reptiles.
Good luck and let us know the outcome of your snake.

you said he didn't want to burrow, well how deep is the aspen? Atleast 2 inches should work, 3 inches preferred.

Is he getting ready to shed? And as said before, what is your temps like?

How often have you offered food? If you offer more than once every 5 days you could be stressing the snake. If one of my snakes refuse I always wait 2wks.

Your snake doesn't look skinny to me. Mine was skinnier (is that even a word?) than that before he took his first meal with me.

Have you tried live mouse pinks? I know, a bad habbit to get into, but personally that is all mine will take. And mouse pinks can't hurt the snake either. Try leaving him alone with a wiggling mouse pink overnight (put him in a deli cup and put the deli cup in his cage just in case he does get out he will only be getting out in his own cage)

goodluck!
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 1.0 western hognose, 1.0 red blood

temps at night are around 75-80
and during the day 80-88

I have not tried live pinkies....so maybe that could be it.

and the last few times I have tried feeding him i left him in small plasstic container with a pinkie...no forceps....I'll try again next week, and see how it goes. I also could prob. find a toad...whether i get one from my yard..or the easiest way is to get a toad from the store for very very cheap(i'm not sure if they are western spadefoot or another western species) and I could use that for scenting.

oh and could anyone recommend a good vet in Mass.?

thanks again

Try to place the F/T mouse close to him and then leave him alone (i.e. get out of his sight). The forceps may stress him especially if you wiggle the mouse.
-Mo

It isn't possible to tell for sure, the snake certainly could be wild caught. Frankly, when I see non-baby Hogs for sale in a petstore I assume they are WC.

Your snake is a male. Males can be trickier to feed sometimes. I would try scenting a few mice.

I would recommend getting a toad (or a frog if your area doesn't have available wild toads) and rubbing it all over a F/T fuzzy mouse and leaving it in the cage with the snake for a few hours one morning and leave the room. Don't check back for several hours to ensure the snake isn't disturbed.

Also, don't handle the snake for a couple of days before and after feeding. Most hogs won't refuse a toad scented rodent, even if they are being stubborn at the time. Offer toad scented fuzzies a couple of times then you should be able to switch over to unscented.
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Chris Harrison

Did you ask the pet store what he was feeding on? Tell the owner of the petstore that you're having problems and maybe they'll take it back, get it feeding, and give it back to you. Once the snake starts eating you shouldn't have any problems. Talk to the owner of the petstore and see if they can do something about it. Let us know what happens.
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James
My Web Page

thanks for all your help. I honestly researched hogs for over a year before getting this one....I knew there was always the chance I would get one that would be hard to get eating...but never imagined it would be this hard....with everything I have tried I figured soemthing would have worked by now.....I want to hand him back over to the store....but then I feel like I'm just giving up on the snake and abandoning him.

thanks again and I'll keep you guys informed on what happens...and more input would be great...thanks once more

I have two that are/were non eaters....they are yearlings.
I very nice person here suggested buying a can of chunk tuna in WATER and using the water to marinate the mice. Worked first time on both of them....a male and a female. I keep the water in a container in the refer and warm it up by setting it in a pan of hot water, then "dip" the mice and give it to them and leave them alone. The male ate it right out of my hand.
Good Luck
Nancy
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Some of my best friends are snakes
Snakes Rule

a few things.

Don't just go grab a toad out of your yard, you never know what it could have walked/hopped through (pestesides etc..etc...) plus you don't know if that toad is specificly the kind of toad the snake would eat(especially since the western hognose isn't native to new england, just way to cold! lol!)

Since they do eat lizards in the wild as well. Try lizard maker, it is usually in most pet stores.

As for a herp vet in Mass. I never needed one when was up there. But try www.herpvetconnection.com

herpvetconnection.com (just in case it *****'s it out)

Goodluck!
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 1.0 western hognose, 1.0 red blood

I was aware of the toad thing..it crossed my mind to try to find one then i figured...it was a bad idea...I got lizard marker...it hansn't worked yet...but I did go back to the store where I got the hognose, and person i know was working I talked to him for a bit(he has owned countless snakes over the years breeding and such) and he has had western hognoses...and pretty much went over what you guys did....what i might have missed...he mentioned the substrate so I think I'll make it a little deeper. I also brought up my concern that the snake could ahve been wild caught be he assured me that that was unlikly the place they got this hognose from never deals with wild caught animals. Anyways I'll keep you all updated on whats going on as it happens.

No one I have EVER talked to had success with Lizard Maker...even well known breeders.
Give the Tuna Water a try...it works
Nancy
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Some of my best friends are snakes
Snakes Rule