# Colubrids > Hognose >  Tell me everything you know about Hognose snakes...

## anatess

2 months ago, my husband brought home our first ball python.  Before that, I was deathly scared of snakes.  But now, I'm in love with them and has finally gotten comfortable with them that I can handle them all by myself now.  Yippee...  Well then, my husband wants to know if he can get my son a hognose snake.  Man, I was getting really good at the ball pythons, I've read everything I can find on them... now I have to learn about hognoses!  Well, for some reason, there is no caresheet here... I read some general stuff out there on the internet but I find some conflicting information - feed mice, feed toads, feed crickets, feed live, feed pre-killed, etc. etc...  I'm starting to get confused.  There's eastern, western, mexican, dusty and they all seem like different sub-species and not just color morphs...

So, I'm asking anybody out here to please help me out!

Here is what I know so far.  Please correct any mis-information.
1.)  they have venom but they don't bite for self-defense.  venom is only injected during feeding after some "chewing action".  I translate this to "you are more likely to get bit by your ball python than your hognose".  Correct?

2.) females go to up to 3 feet, males are more likely to stay under 2 feet.

3.) they are opportunistic feeders, meaning, they would rather eat dead stuff than have to kill the prey themselves.  they eat all kinds of dead stuff, not just rodents.  but, in captivity, they can live solely on mice (will they eat ASFs?  I have a colony of those for my ball pythons).  An adult hognose would need a large mouse once a week?

4.) they have a brumation period from October to December and will not eat for those 3 months.

5.)  they need the same temperature gradient and humidity as ball pythons until October when the temperatures need to be lowered to 70-80 for brumation.

6.) no UVB requirements

7.)  can live all their lives very comfortably in a 20 gallon long enclosure.

8.) need hides and waterbowl just like a ball python.

9.)  need a deep substrate they can burrow in (aspen or reptile sand).

10.)  My 7-year-old and 5-year-old sons will be completely safe handling a hognose.

11.)  they poop a lot and stink to high heaven.  we have hamsters, so this is probably not going to be a problem if it is true.

12.)  a western hognose is easier to feed than any other kind of hognose.

What did I miss?  Oh, I read about their "antics" like hissing like a cobra or rattlesnake and striking close-mouthed and playing dead (what a wierd snake!). 

Thank you for your help!

----------


## Patrick Long

> Here is what I know so far.  Please correct any mis-information.
> 
> 10.)  My 7-year-old and 5-year-old sons will be completely safe handling a hognose.


How do you know this?

----------


## Colin Vestrand

the kids will be safe, but will your hognose? haha... j/k
my two year old handles ours... but as pat alluded to, ya never know.  although i've never seen _Heterodon_ bite.
everything else looks good... they are extremely easy to keep, but can be finnicky eaters at times.

----------


## Patrick Long

I hear its like bees, If your allergic, you can be in some serious hurt/trouble

----------


## spk329

Check this link out......Safe with the kids?

http://www.herpnet.net/bite/

----------


## wilomn

> Check this link out......Safe with the kids?
> 
> http://www.herpnet.net/bite/


You do realize that the idiot from that article let the snake CHEW on him for 3 to 5 minutes. 

Don't you?

If you want to sight stupid people as a source of good information you will not look too good yourself.

Would you let a bee sting you for five minutes just to see what happened? How about a fire ant? Maybe use a magnifying glass on your finger to see what the results would be.

I've got a couple of big females that are like Sandworms from Dune, always with mouths open ready to chomp until you take them out and they calm down and close their gaping maws. Were one of those to nail me when expecting food and to then be allowed to continue to excrete venom into me for 5 bloody minutes then I'm sure I too would have an adverse reaction.

Duh

However, I've never been bitten, in many years of keeping, by a western hognose.

----------


## LostNFound

i had a worse reaction to a cat bite that lasted 2 secs

----------


## anatess

My source of information was all the things I gathered off the internet which may/may not be accurate.  That's why I'm asking you guys.

What about the other stuff?  Especially feeding?  I found out the hognose my husband is interested in is a Western hognose.

I also found somewhere on the internet that you can keep 2 hognose snakes in a 20 gallon tank or 3 in a 30 gallon tank.  So, I'm beginning to wonder if these guys live in social groups?

----------


## wilomn

I've kept and bred them in groups for many years. I've kept them alone for just as long.

Both ways work fine but I'd recommend keeping them solo until you get some experience with them.

They're great snakes.

----------


## anatess

Do you know if they'll eat any kind of rodent?
I have an ASF colony for my bp... will they eat that?  Do you have to pre-kill the rodent?  Can they live solely on rodent and nothing else or will they need supplemental toads or something?
Sorry for the million questions...

----------


## wilomn

I don't keep ASFs so I have no clue about their acceptability to hognoses.

I've only kept westerns and they will eat mice or rats of appropriate size. I have never had one that I needed to feed frogs or toads or lizards to.

I have not kept any other species of hognose. Some of those I have not kept need amphibians.

----------


## Dragnbaron

> 1.)  they have venom but they don't bite for self-defense.  venom is only injected during feeding after some "chewing action".  I translate this to "you are more likely to get bit by your ball python than your hognose".  Correct?
> 
> 2.) females go to up to 3 feet, males are more likely to stay under 2 feet.
> 
> 3.) they are opportunistic feeders, meaning, they would rather eat dead stuff than have to kill the prey themselves.  they eat all kinds of dead stuff, not just rodents.  but, in captivity, they can live solely on mice (will they eat ASFs?  I have a colony of those for my ball pythons).  An adult hognose would need a large mouse once a week?
> 
> 4.) they have a brumation period from October to December and will not eat for those 3 months.
> 
> 5.)  they need the same temperature gradient and humidity as ball pythons until October when the temperatures need to be lowered to 70-80 for brumation.
> ...


1) You are correct on that. They Only use it when they feed. The discussion of if its venom has a purpose or not is up to debate. Some people feel it's only good when used on amphibians, some people feel it's useless. In my opinion, and this is purely unscientific, it's venom is useless. It's only affective if you're allergic to it. That said, i have never heard of a hognose biting except for that one idiot who let it chew on him for a long time. And if you hognose does mistake your hand for food they move so slowly it's easy to move away from the gaping mouth.

2)They usually stay smaller (Westerns). My female are maybe 2ft long and my male are a little shorter. Eastern hognoses get pretty big (3-4 ft). But they're also difficult to keep in captivity and feed on many amphibians.

3)DON'T feed hognoses full grown mice alive. Mice are too fast and will easily kill a hognose. I learned this firsthand when i knew little about hognoses. And adult hognose will be fine with 2 to 3 rat pup fuzzies. They will eat ASF's but hognoses can be picky eaters and go off feeding for no reason. When that happens ASF's are usually what gets them to feed again. Westerns and mexican (and some say tri colored) can live exclusively on rodents. Getting them to eat FT (frozen thawed) can be difficult but feeding them live prey does not make them any more aggressive, in my experience. If you want to feed them adult mice they MUST be prekilled mice. NEVER feed an eastern exclusively rodents. I have read it can lead to fatty liver disease, but they can still eat it in smaller quantity. I only kept easterns for a very short time so i have only a little experience with them.

4)They don't need to brumate. Brumation is usually used along side with breeding. They don't need to brumate if their temperatures are fine. Sometimes, they will brumate on their own. I have never experienced this 'self brumation' but have heared about it. When i brumate mine i keep them in a small fridge set to 50 degrees for 1 to 3 months. but i only do that when planning to breed them.

5)I keep all my hognoses between 75-85 all year round. Anything more than that can be pretty hot for them. Anything lower than 65 at night can cause problems too. They are from the dessert (or desert, i can never remember) and can handle temps upwards of 90 but they are always under the sand or in the shadows where the temperature hardly ever does above 85. Keep this in mind when choosing a temperature for them. Anything too hot or too cold and they will hiss and fake strike and not eat.
          -sidenote- some people use no heat for their hognose because of their outside temperature (like in Florida). I use heat because i'm in Massachusetts and it gets cold here (and luckily i still have power right now.) Temps between 75-85 are perfect, i keep mine at 80 all year round unless i decide to brumate them.

6) Also open for debate. I don't use it and have had no problems. I understand with some animals it is required (like bearded dragons, tortoises, turtles, etc). They are almost always in the sand or in the shadows in the wild and get very little UVB. People have kept hognoses without UVB for the snake's entire life and have no encountered any problems. Some people swear that UVB is always necessary. In my personal opinion, having some light so they know when is concidered daytime and when is concidered nighttime is a good idea, but it does not need to be UVB. It's also very hard to provide UVB as a breeder when most od the snakes are in a rack system. So, in short, it's not needed but do what you concider best for you.

7)Yep, perfect size. Some people even say 10 gal is fine but i think that's too small, personally.

8) Yep, but hognoses don't soak as often because they don't shed as much, as adults. Hides are important. I always say one in the hot end and one in the cold end of the tank. Without a hide or a substrate to burrow in they will not be as comfortable.

9)Don't use reptisand, it's a waste of money and can hurt you hognose. I use something that is debated so i won't tell you what it is because people seriously disagree with me about it, but i found it works for me. Anyway, use 'bed-a-beast' bricks and then dry it in the oven. That works wonders. But again, do what's best for you and the snake. I only use two substrates so if anyone else has anything they'd recommend please do.

10)They will be safe handling the snake but the snake may not. I will admit, when i first got a hog and it hissed i got frightened and nearly dropped it when i jumped. If the hog is as tame as a puppy and you KNOW your kids will not drop it than sure.

11)No, they are very clean and don't poop more than any other snake their size. If you don't clean the cage weekly than yes, they will stink alot, but otherwise they are relatively smell free. They all have some kind of 'odor' (just like grandma) but the only time they will stink up an entire room is when then play dead. I have never seen this in person and have not experienced the odor.

12)Hmm, also up for debate. I find my mexicans eat much better and stronger than my westerns. My Tri-coloreds eat about the same as my westerns. When i say they eat better i mean that they never go a week refusing food. They will eat everything i put in front of them. My Westerns will go off feeding one week or even a month if they feel inclined. As long as they are active and alert i see no issue with it. But keep in mind, this is only my experience, not actual fact.

Ok, other things to keep in mind:
-hognoses are easy to care for and require minimal to no extra heat
-the hood, hissing, and fake striking can frighten many newcomers to the hognose world
-NEVER drop one, there have been some reported cases of dropped hognoses dying out of the blue months later
-don't trust any other animals near hognoses
-never a good idea to house them together unless they are breeding. They will eat eat other.
-if they are housed together keep them seperated at least an hour after feeding or that 'must eat' instinct will make them want to eat their cage mate.
-They like to climb. It's an odd habit for any 'ground' snake but they usually spend their time climbing. I know i'm not alone on this, either.
-Not all hognoses burrow; each individual snake is different. They all have different personalities.
-Never feed them something that can fight back. Hognoses have an odd tendancy or taking their prey sideways and folding it in half. This is bad for anything that can fight back. Hognoses are also so stubborn that they will get their eyes clawed rather than let go of the prey. I always fed mine pinky to hopper mice and then jumped to pinky to fuzzy rat pups. I recommend NEVER feeding a hognose a full grown mouse.
-Try to get your hognose eating F/T. It saves alot of hassle but some just won't eat F/T and will only take live.
-Because their personalities are all different some of them may not want to be seen and may burrow all the time, while others will put on shows and try amazing feats of balance  :Very Happy: 
-Finding a vet that is experienced with this kind of snake is hard. Ball Pythons are so common throughout the world that it's easy to find a vet that has some knowlege about them, but hognoses are a different story. I had an experience where one vet would not treat my hognoses because he was afraid they were so venemous they would kill him if he was bit. Ignorance. Make sure you have a vet in the area qualified for this specific type of snake.

I hope that answers most questions. I love all my hognoses, even the pissy ones, just keep in mind that they are all different and when they reach puberty they all are a little 'hissy.' I never trust small children under the age of 10 with any snake, but that's just my personal experience, nothing against your, or anyone elses, children. Please, excuse my typos.

Now, as everyone has pretty much said, they are great snakes and i recommend them to anyone who likes snakes. Great way to get started in snakes or even for an experienced herpers. Check out www.hognose.com They have some care sheets there for every species of hognose (including giant) and the owner of hognose.com is also on this forum but i don't remember her username.
Good luck and let us know how things go!

----------

_anatess_ (12-19-2008),grammie (01-04-2009),_m0esgirl_ (12-25-2008)

----------


## anendeloflorien

Hoggies are really some of the easiest snakes I have to keep. I only have 1.1 westerns and 0.0.1 tri and they're still little so, in keeping with the breeder (Jenea Woods - FloridaHogs on bp.net) I keep them on paper towels in my colubrid rack with a temp gradient from 85 hot to 70 cold. They actually don't even use hides, they'll just curl up under the paper towels. IMO they are some of the coolest snakes with such an attitude for such a little animal! My tri is really laid back but the westerns will hiss up a storm and start their little cobra impression whenever anything foreign is in their enclosure lol. I was feeding them last night and I dropped a ft pink into the little girls tub and she sat there hissing and mock striking at it for a good 10 minutes before she realized it was food and wasn't going to hurt her lol. 

You won't be sorry if you get one from Jenea BTW (the link to her site is in my sig) she's got some real beauties! 
Good luck!

----------

_anatess_ (12-19-2008)

----------


## Hardwikk

1. 100% correct. You can try and you won't get bitten by a Hognose snake. There is nothing to worry about how their venom penetrates because you won't get bitten.

2. Yes, you can expect females to grow between 24"-30" and males never grow more than 20".

3. Mine ate dead the first time when I got it. And some of them just want to make sure they've killed the dead mouse  :ROFL:  (I'm just saying that most *captive-bred* Hoggers are capable mouse-eaters)

4. I've had Charon (that's my Hognose) for more than a year and he only didn't eat once (and that was towards the beginning of owning him, like his 
2nd feeding session). I cannot say for myself if that is true. I could be lucky.

5. Unless you plan to breed them, you don't need a brumation period. Keep the temperatures the same all year round. 

6. That's right.

7. Yup, and they don't get that stressed of being in a larger-than-them terrarium (like other snakes are)

8. Yeah.

9. Yes. I use Zilla crushed english walnut shells, but those two you listed are good too.

10. I brought Charon for a public display at Penintentiary Glen; More than 600 people (including small children) and he didn't even hiss.

11. Not so sure about that (as in, that's not true). They drop what is expected for their size. As long as you clean it the second you see it, it only smells bad up close.

12. Westerns and Mexicans have a better guarantee of eating mice than other species. Choose one of them (preferably Westerns because I have never owned a Mexican before).

And those are all my answers to your questions.

----------

_anatess_ (12-19-2008)

----------


## anatess

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much for the information!  This is exactly the kind of information I'm looking for!  I can't find the Thanks button.   :Confused: 

My kids are fairly good with snakes (they are awesome with the ball pythons) although, I still have locks in all the snakes' enclosures just so they couldn't just pick them up when we can't supervise.  My 7-year-old especially is very very knowlegeable with reptiles.  He wants to be a herpetologist when he grows up.  He takes care of the ball pythons except for the monthly overhaul.  I still have to inspect the enclosures daily of course just to make sure they're at proper settings.  But, my sons do the feeding and poop pick-up and even helped one of our snakes shed when she shed in pieces (we had humidity issues).  

I'm lucky to live 10 miles from a great reptile doctor as well (specializes on reptiles).  He wrote a few books on snake husbandry (different species) and how to tell if your snake is sick, etc.  The only problem is he is the ONLY reptile doctor in town so he has a LOT of clients and he is costly!

----------


## wilomn

> 1. 100% correct. You can try and you won't get bitten by a Hognose snake. There is nothing to worry about how their venom penetrates because you won't get bitten.


This is incorrect.

You CAN be bitten.

There is the possibility of a bad reaction.

It "probably" won't happen but does not mean it can't.

----------

_Anya_ (10-07-2014)

----------


## Louie1

I would not keep them at the same humidity as ball pythons. Hogs are desert and like to be kept dry. They have a wide range in the wild so they can adapt to most conditions but seem to strive better, in my experience, when kept dryer. Everything else sounds pretty good. 

Good luck and careful as they are very addictive!

----------


## Louie1

> This is incorrect.
> 
> You CAN be bitten.
> 
> There is the possibility of a bad reaction.
> 
> It "probably" won't happen but does not mean it can't.



Agreed! Always take precautions. Any snake can bite and you can have a reaction to any bite.

----------


## Hardwikk

> This is incorrect.
> 
> You CAN be bitten.
> 
> There is the possibility of a bad reaction.
> 
> It "probably" won't happen but does not mean it can't.


Okay, I forgot to mention the feeding response thing, but there still is a minimal chance of getting bitten by a Hognose. All the highly-experienced Hogger owners here with their years of detailed experience have never been bitten (correct me if I'm wrong), and I've had mine for more than a year (since he was a month and a 1/2 old) and the only pain he inflicts on me is when he "burrows" up my sleeve (that nose is pointy!).

----------

Shadowoutcastoflove (09-22-2015)

----------


## Shadowoutcastoflove

I've played with this snake ever since I grow up it was like the main Snake. I never had a pet snake I like to find them in the wild and study them for a bit. they are fun and they are harmless though when mad they look like a Cobra. it's a bit freaky not a whole lot though. I find them to be a wonderful snake if I could have one as a pet I would. the one I have with me now is from the wild and it was mad that me because well I found it playing died and I bury dead things. and it was alive so I did not bury it. I normally go around my house and look for dead things. because I never know what will be in my yard. the Hognose was a weird snake to find in my yard playing died.  I see it as a peaceful snake I'm not really worries about them. though I took care of Geckos I have not taken care of a snake. I feel they are not hard is I can make a gecko happy I can make a snake happy. Though I may be wrong. but I don't mind that I am because I'm only almost 17 and I have played with poisonous snakes and animals though I don't worry about my safe when I do. I like to think of it as a happy time for me to do my studies. You all seem very nice about it and thank you for the help. I knew it was a rarity to be bitten by one of them. it's not like the eastern water snake they are evil and mean. I've done a lot of things with snakes. and I think I find the hognose to be one of the best snakes out there. in fact I see them as more friendly then most snakes. they never seem to bit me no matter how many times I try to get them to they will not bit me. the water snake and Gardener snake do. the rat snake did not the poisonous one I had for a time could not it had no fangs yet. or something I don't know. but I've been really lucky. I love snakes I just love to learn about them and love to study them. I find animals fun. my father was a biologist by the way. it's not fun until I can see it is fun from my view. thank you all. Have fun.

----------


## Stewart_Reptiles

> I've played with this snake ever since I grow up it was like the main Snake. I never had a pet snake I like to find them in the wild and study them for a bit. they are fun and they are harmless though when mad they look like a Cobra. it's a bit freaky not a whole lot though. I find them to be a wonderful snake if I could have one as a pet I would. the one I have with me now is from the wild and it was mad that me because well I found it playing died and I bury dead things. and it was alive so I did not bury it. I normally go around my house and look for dead things. because I never know what will be in my yard. the Hognose was a weird snake to find in my yard playing died.  I see it as a peaceful snake I'm not really worries about them. though I took care of Geckos I have not taken care of a snake. I feel they are not hard is I can make a gecko happy I can make a snake happy. Though I may be wrong. but I don't mind that I am because I'm only almost 17 and I have played with poisonous snakes and animals though I don't worry about my safe when I do. I like to think of it as a happy time for me to do my studies. You all seem very nice about it and thank you for the help. I knew it was a rarity to be bitten by one of them. it's not like the eastern water snake they are evil and mean. I've done a lot of things with snakes. and I think I find the hognose to be one of the best snakes out there. in fact I see them as more friendly then most snakes. they never seem to bit me no matter how many times I try to get them to they will not bit me. the water snake and Gardener snake do. the rat snake did not the poisonous one I had for a time could not it had no fangs yet. or something I don't know. but I've been really lucky. I love snakes I just love to learn about them and love to study them. I find animals fun. my father was a biologist by the way. it's not fun until I can see it is fun from my view. thank you all. Have fun.


This thread is almost 7 YEARS old and the OP last participated 2 years ago. 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

----------

