Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

This is my first time posting on this forum. I currently own one cornsnake, but I am planning on purchasing a Western Hognose from an upcoming reptile show this weekend.

I have done lots of research into hognose, and I have always loved them (I occasionally find one in my backyard; I live in Arizona).

Anyway, I have never purchased a snake from a reptile show before. Are there any species-specific things I should look for in order to determine if the snake is healthy? What kinds of questions should I ask the seller?

I plan on keeping the hognose in a cage on a rack underneath where my corn is now kept. Is there a quarantine period where I should keep the new snake in a separate room? Or will they be fine in cages near each other? I never plan on the snakes actually meeting or being caged together.

I have one more question. The topic of substrate is hotly debated on the cornsnake forums. I currently keep my corn on paper towels. However, I know that hognose love to dig and bury themselves. What is the safest substrate that you would recommend for a hatchling hognose? Would paper towel not be advisable since they like to burrow? I have seen conflicting information on various sites and I do not want my hognose to become impacted. I plan on feeding it on paper towels in a separate feeding cage.

Thank you very much for your time!

~ Lura

The main things you will want to ask a breeder at a show is "Is the snake captive bred?" and "Is the snake eating unscented mice?" Hognoses can be much more finicky eaters than corns, sometimes going off feed for weeks or months at a time and sometimes won't eat mice unless they are scented (usually with toads). Of my five Westerns, all eat unscented mice, but my largest male will only eat split brained. I asuume you are contimplating a Western, and I would highly recommend one over an Eastern because they are much easier to feed.

As for the substrate, most people agree aspen works best because it is non toxic (as opposed to ceder and pine) and it holds its shape so they can burrow and create tunnels for themselves. Your snake will hide most of the time and you may hardly ever see it when you don't have it out. I feed mine in seperate containers so they do not ingest the aspen (just like you mentioned)

As for the quaritine question, if the Hognose is captive born, it should be fine. If you are worried though, a quaritine might not be a bad idea. Check other peoples opinions and make your own desiscion.

You sound like you have really thought this through and are well prepared to get a Hognose. There is some good info on www.hognose.com and a few months ago Richard Evens wrote a nice article for Reptiles Magazine. He might even be at your show. His company is called West Texas Reptiles and has the website www.albinohognose.com. I purchased two of my Westerns from him.

Good luck and let us know how it works out!
Jim
www.hognose.com

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2.3 Western Hognose Snakes
1.1 Eastern Hognose Snakes
1.0 Malagasy Speckled Hognose Snake
1.0 Texas Longnose Snake
2.2 Bearded Dragons
0.1 Green Iguana
0.1 Cat
0.1 Dog
1.0 Rat
0.0.1 Baby (expecting)

I fell in love with hogs at first sight and had mine shipped to me from texas (it was the middle of winter in NY) because I just couldn't wait for the summer shows! (which was good because the Syracuse one got cancelled this year) This forum and hognose.com are great for info. you definitely want a hog that's eating unscented mice...even those can be difficult feeders but a lot better than having to completely train it yourself--just look at all the posts on here from people having trouble. Just like any snake, make sure the one you choose is strong and bright--they aren't quite as muscular as corns but a limp snake is always a bad thing. The ones you look at may puff and hiss even if they are captive bred--don't worry, you can quickly get them to tolerate handling, and mine has never tried to bite (though she has recently started musking so I guess I need to handle her more). I have mine on aspen as Jim suggested to you already, and I think it's a good choice. Definitely feed in another box--that way they never associate your hand reaching in with being fed (never a bad thing, especially with something mildly venomous). I plan on getting a bigger enclosure someday, but for now Sola is in a shoebox sized sterilite container, because shes still pretty small and won't need a lot of space. good luck finding one!