Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi everybody, my cb western hognose is around 16" long, everytime when I open the cage door and try to pick her up, she will hiss and a couple of times will even strike, is this normal? Is it safe to handle her? Will I get bitten?
Thanks!

Yeah that can be normal behavior. Mine still does it every now and again but has mostly grown out of it. As far as biting???? When they strike like that their mouth is closed. They hardly ever bite in defense. Having said that, mine used to latch on to me in a feeding response, even though I had washed my hands. I would bet that once you pick her up she will calm down after a few minutes and be just fine. She may also play dead, though I have never seen it in mine. Hope that helped.

ep
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Occupants not paying rent:
1.1.5 balls
2.1.8 corns(candy cane, creamsicle, ghost, 4 normal,
4 anery )
1 pueblan milk
1 everglades rat
1 cal. king
1 gray band king
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
1 fish
1 mouse
3.3 cats

That is normal behavior. My female Western is very tame, but she will still flatten her head and give a hiss now and then if I reach in from above to grab her. I pay her no mind. That's just one of the reasons I love these snakes. Hogs are very calm and relaxed in hand, but can, and do spook easy when you first attempt to go in their enclosure to grab them. As long as you don't have rodent smell on your hand, or you have just fed your hog right before, you have little chance of getting bit. I just take two hands and kind of scoop her up from both sides at the same time. I keep kingsnakes, corns, and ratsnakes, and out of all of them, my hognose is the least one to worry about getting bitten. They put on a good show. They want you to think all bluff. If your still worried, you can wear a latex glove or they're bad, they want to make you think they'll bite, but it's put a sock over your hand and and grab her up, so as to build confidence. Another way is to close your eyes when you reach in to pick her up. That way you won't jump, react, or jerk away fast when the hog gives a bluff strike. Good luck. They are great snakes.

Steve

hi everybody, my cb western hognose is around 16" long, everytime when I open the cage door and try to pick her up, she will hiss and a couple of times will even strike, is this normal? Is it safe to handle her? Will I get bitten?
Thanks!

That is normal behavior. My female Western is very tame, but she will still flatten her head and give a hiss now and then if I reach in from above to grab her. I pay her no mind. That's just one of the reasons I love these snakes. Hogs are very calm and relaxed in hand, but can, and do spook easy when you first attempt to go in their enclosure to grab them. As long as you don't have rodent smell on your hand, or you haven't just fed your hog right before, you have little chance of getting bit. I just take two hands and kind of scoop her up from both sides at the same time. I keep kingsnakes, corns, and ratsnakes, and out of all of them, my hognose is the least one to worry about getting bitten. They put on a good show, and they want you to think they will bite, but it's all bluff.
IF your still worried about getting bit, take a latex glove or place a thin sock over your hand and scoop her up. That's a good way to help you build confidence. You could also close your eyes when reaching in to pick her up. That will keep you from jumping, or jerking away fast every time your hog fake striks, hisses at you. Good luck. They are great snakes.

Steve

My hatchling at first did not do this, I would actually feed him out of my hand but then as he grew more acclimated he started to gradually flatten his neck and strick more and more but always kept his mouth shut. The only time he ever grabbed on to me with open mouth was when I picked him up right after he ate to put him back in his enclosure, now I dont do that. He does still bluff but soon settles down.