Posted by:
Rextiles
at Mon Aug 17 20:49:33 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Rextiles ]
Since you've fed your hog, has he defecated at all? I typically use the rule of thumb that shortly after they defecate, I feed them. You don't want to gorge your snake with too much food that it can't digest it all properly as that can cause regurgitations which can ultimately lead to death.
One thing that might be helpful is knowing the size/weight of your male hognose. Typically, adult males run between 90-150 grams and are usually closer to 100 grams. 3 fuzzy rat pups is a lot of food for a male in my opinion. If you are feeding him this much, make sure he has a lot of heat to help digest all of that food.
Remember, snakes are not the brightest of animals and will sometimes gorge themselves because in the wild they never know when their next meal will be. They also will not usually eat again until all of that food is properly digested.
Adult male Western Hognose are also very well known for going off of food for months at a time. This is very normal during breeding season but can occur at really any time. I have a male that just ate after fasting for a month and a half and I've had some males not eat for 3 months without any noticeable loss in weight or degradation in health.
Good luck on your hoggie. They are very unique snakes and have their own little set of quirks that you will eventually get accustomed to. Keep us updated on how he's doing.  ----- Troy Rexroth Rextiles

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