Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I know a lot of people scent with tuna or salmon juice to help picky eaters start feeding. Anyone tried feeder guppies?

Hi, I have not used guppies before but i have heard from buddys with Eastens feeder fish working well for them, But With westen not sure, I use canned cat food which i know might sound abit strange but with using a live or Ft toad i have the most success with it, With the cat food i have found Salmon flavour works best dip the mouse head in just a tad, Sorted, I use it normally when Toad scenting did not work, I got the tip years ago at a German reptile show in Franfurt, Its worked for many buddys that have had scenting issues

I do have 4 cats, so salmon cat food would not go to waste. Haha.

Haha, Sorted, Then you have multiple choices if you want to give the cat food a go, Try different one every time you open a new can for your cats that way you will have the best chance finding the one that works for you and your hogs, One buddy swears by tuna cat food, I think anything Fishy will work, Good luck hope it works for you.

Try raising the temps to 87F, most likely you won't need to trick them. Also make sure they are not dehydrated. Screen top cages, lack of tight sealed hiding areas etc, lead to chronic dehydration.
Hogs are very thick skinned, so they are not as sensitive to this as many other colubrids. But please keep it in mind.

So far, we have not had long term problems with either captive hatched or wild caught hogs, all have taken to mice right off and most without any trickery. Good luck

That is a good tip as i increased my daytime hotspot to 100F, All my hogs are feeding better, I change my water every 2-3 days so they can swim or drink whatever makes them happy, Also i have gone the extra mile to with my Husbandry, I laid down a big chunk of money for alot Herpstats, Where i can control the morning rise to its peak of 100F at 1pm and at 6pm the temps cool back down slowly hour to hour until at around 11pm the night temp settles in i got that set tp 86F, Its an ongoing adjustment until i am 100% happy but i have to say so far AWESOME, My hogs are acting more like you would expect in the wild well i have no really way of cofirming that till i field observing myself in the future. For example 80% of my hogs will start showing them selfs at around 1pm where it starts getting alot warmer and as the temp goes back down again they slither to cover, If Franks tips work then you will not need a Plan B, But you never know!.,. Happy Herping

That's the point, plan A or B or C or D, its great to have as many plans as you can. I never said, DON'T do that.

I only ask people to think about plan A, before you go to plan C or D.

ALso, normal wild hog behavior is this, A mourning emergence, then a late afternoon emergence. Those are the two windows.

Its common to see one cross the road in the mourning, then see it again going the other way in the late afternoon. That has been repeated many times in the field.

Where did the, *I never said, DON'T do that.* Come from? Did i write something to piss you off or offend you? I am confirming what you are saying is right, Calm down

No sir, you did not, make me mad, not at all.
I was just clarifying why I keep mentioning cage conditions. And surely I use tricks if I have too. But if you understand their requirements, tricks are almost never needed.

And Lance, its not about you. Its just seems so common on here that folks(not you) want it to be one thing. they set the cage up, like they were told and its suppose to work. When it doesn't its something wrong with the snake.

About all I can say is, I will use different temps in different rooms, I use what works, not what a recipe says. Recipes are great places to start. But are not set in stone.

Have a great night Lance. I may not be on here for a few days as my oldest daughter is getting married. Best wishes

Sorry for misunderstanding, What you are saying makes sense, You are right Default set up does not mean its right for the snake, I hope you have a great time at your daughters wedding, Enjoy!

Regards Lance

Thanks Lance, I am kinda scared, hahahahahahahahaha