# Colubrids > Hognose >  How often do Hognose shed

## Jus1More

My boy "Chuy" has not shed since mid June. I was wondering if the Hognose snakes shed slower or not has much as other snakes? Another thing I've noticed is he hasn't been keen on eating the last 3 times and he usually is a little piggy. He did not want to eat 3 weeks ago so we skipped that meal. The next week I offered and he turned away from it but eventually ate after with a couple trys at offering it to him. (I've notice he doesnt like prey with alot of fur on it. So I stick to medium size fuzzie mice as it only has a little bit of fur on it compared to fuzzie rats). 

*I am hoping for Deborah to chime in*, as she knows best about these little noodles!! Someone told me that since he is a 1 yr old that perhaps he was reaching maturity and that possibly his hormones may have an effect on him? 

I did have a lot of aspen substrate in his enclosure and couldnt feel the heat coming though on his hot side, so i took some out so it wasnt so much. The heat is set @ 93F on the thermo but when you use the temp gun it reads 88-89F on the hot side. He usually is chillin in the middle of his tub or opposite the hot side. I am wondering if his temps should be a liitle warmer on the hot side? Otherwise, he is a very active hognose in the mornings and then chills out by late afternoon. 

With that said,  Im not very concerned about him being picky when it comes to eating, because i know hognose snakes are famous for being picky eaters at times. My concern is the shedding. Is there something I should or shouldnt be doing for him to help?  :Confused:

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## Stewart_Reptiles

> My boy "Chuy" has not shed since mid June. I was wondering if the Hognose snakes shed slower or not has much as other snakes? Another thing I've noticed is he hasn't been keen on eating the last 3 times. He did not want to eat 3 weeks ago so we skipped that meal. The next week I offered and he turned away from it but eventually ate after with a couple trys at offering it to him. (I've notice he doesnt like prey with alot of fur on it. So I stick to medium size fuzzie mice as it only has a little bit of fur on it compared to fuzzie rats).


 Typical male behavior, they are just a pain in the butt well at least compare to females  :Wink: , they'll eat fine than skip meals here and there than fast, females on the other end not so much they are really food driven.

Now as far as prey and food offering goes while I feed the majority of my hognose with snake tongs some actually don't like that or get all huff and puff about it so rather than stress them I just push the bedding aside and leave the F/T in the enclosure and by the morning it will be gone, so you might want to try that and see if he feed better like that (sometimes you just have to adjust the way you do things for specific individuals)




> I am hoping for Deborah to chime in[/B], as she knows best about these little noodles!! Someone told me that since he is a 1 yr old that perhaps he was reaching maturity and that possibly his hormones may have an effect on him?


See above just a thing male do at any age breeding or not they are just not as predictable and reliable when it comes to feeding.




> Is there something I should or shouldn't be doing for him to help?


As far as shedding believe it or not I really don't pay attention to frequency, I pay attention to the growth of my animals and shed during breeding season for females but aside from that, if my snake is healthy and looking good and growing I know they will shed eventually.

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Craiga 01453 (09-03-2018),_Jus1More_ (09-02-2018)

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## Alter-Echo

My male hoggie sheds a few times a year, even when he's eating a ton in the summer he only sheds every 4 months or so.

As Deborah said, males are fickle, and even healthy ones tend to eat only sporadically and in the winter they barely eat at all.

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Craiga 01453 (09-03-2018),_Jus1More_ (09-02-2018)

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## Craiga 01453

My boy, Cosmo, just recently had his 5th shed with me.
He's been with me since March of 2017, so 5 sheds in 18 months. In that time he has gone from 11 grams to 72. 

This is my only hognose, but based on that limited sample size, they definitely seem to shed less frequently than other species I've kept. 

And my experience with feeding: Cosmo eats when he wants to and doesn't when he doesn't (lil' pain in my butt). Even at 70+ grams, he almost never takes prey off the tongs. I just let him know it's there and set it down. Sometimes he eats in 5 minutes, others it's still there when I go to bed and gone by morning ...and ovcasionally still there by morning...

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_Jus1More_ (09-03-2018)

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