Feeding problems

My hog has missed her last two feedings and I'm starting to get worried. When she first arrived on 6/26 she was 19grams and eating fuzzy mice. Today she is 25grams and hasn't eaten since 7/23 (10 days ago). She's been eating every 5 days with no problem, but now refused the last two attempts. Instead of showing a feeding response and eating the mouse, she just seems either scared of the mouse or just completely not interested. Both times after refusal I left the mouse in the cage with her over night to no avail.

I know a ten day fast is nothing to get worried about yet. But this is the first time any of my snakes has refused a meal.

So, I'm questioning my husbandry. I had been keeping her into a small 6qt tub w/ aspen heated from an UTH. But I started noticing she wasn't as active as when I got her and mostly hung out on the coolest parts of the tub (her warm end was 92, cool end high 70s. Gradient in between. The room she was kept in was very dark and I was providing no photo period.

After the first refusal, I did some research, talked to her breeder, and came back with the idea of putting her in a 10gal tank with a white basking lamp for heat. The lamp is on a timer so she's getting 16 hours of day and 8 hours of night. During the day, her highest basking temp is about 90 and the coolest corner of the tank is 80ish. I've never seen the warm spot over 92 or below 85. At night the ambient temp is about 75.

However, she refused again yesterday and last night. Does my husbandry sound ok? Should I just keep waiting and hoping? Is it too early to try any tricks like tuna scenting or taking the water bowl away for while?

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id wait, mine will go a week or two sometimes without eating. usually if mine doesnt take it within the first 2 minutes its not gonna take it. As long as she not losing to much weight she should be fine. Do you pre-scent?

Good to know, thanks! I haven't tried pre-scenting but it's worth a shot.

Western hogs can be as bad as ball pythons when it comes to going off feed.

When ours go off feed, I will place the food item in a small container (smallest kritter keeper works great) and put the hog in. I then partially bury the container in the substrate.

Works like a charm, I have yet to have even the pickiest hog not eat using this method.

Well she spent the night with a fuzzy in a small deli cup but didn't touch it. I'm going to wait a week and try fish scenting. Really wish she would just eat so I can stop worrying. No weight loss at least.

I would wait 5 days in between attempts as well.

It happens. Hognoses like to go off feeding. If your hog does not seem lethargic and still has good energy don't worry. Worse possible thing to do is stand over your hog and watch it every second to make sure it eats. They can be a little shy. A deli cup should work well, or a SMALL paper bag. If you feel live, leave it live with the snake in the bag (or pillowcase if you can find a small enough one). If it doesn't eat it over night you can try scenting with tuna water (water not oil), or rub a hard boiled egg all over it. Hard boiled eggs aren't really got for your snake, but not harmful in small quantities.
As long as it is active, alert, and has good muscle tone don't worry. A little weight loss is to be expected, too. But ONLY a little.
I have two male hognose. One was aggressive and never missed a feeding, a little over a year old, and pretty big. He went off feedign for three weeks. I'm still waiting for him to start eating again, but since he stopped eating he is very tame, handlable, and probably one of the sweetest snakes i have in my collection. So, in my opinion, my hognose is going through moodswings associated with puberty (about the right age). I also have a younger male who stopped eating, but i'm not sure why. He has only missed one feeding, but ate like crazy before.
So, give your snake time, check on them daily, and they'll eat once they get hungry. Just be happy you don't have a southern hognose that's going off feeding, they are a pain in the butt!

Maybe this sounds weirds but I can't remember HOW I fed her before when she was eating. It was just so.. natural and normal that I didn't really analyze it much. Anyways, could part of the problem be that I'm trying to wiggle it around and make it seem alive? This is how my ball python likes it but I can't recall if she was previously responding to the dancing or just tolerated it. I'm asking cause when that next attempt day is here, I don't want to freak her out w/ the zombie fuzzy mouse dance if it's just going to stress her out. And then I don't just want to throw it in there and have her ignore it because she doesn't want dead prey.

Also, she's very alert and has become more active in her new lamp / tank setup. Today she poked her head out of the aspen and came slithering out when I opened her cage to handle her. She flicks her tongue a lot and tries to slowly burrow away when I have her. She gets crazy fast though if I let her roam free for a while and then try to catch her again. That's the only time I've ever seen her move fast.

One more thing. What do you guys think about trying live? She's never had live prey before. I'm worried a fuzzy could hurt her, so maybe multiple live pinkies?

You should be alright granted my last b.p. was alittle older than ur hog nose but he went 8 months refusing his meals. Just stay at it and don't give up.

Tried feeding her last night. I pre-scented from morning to noon by letting the fuzzy thaw out on top of her mesh tank lid. When I was ready to feed, I warmed it up a bit more in some hot water, and then placed both of them into a tub and closed the lip. After about an hour later, I came back to find what I thought was her swallowing the mouse. I was super excited until I looked closer... all she had really done was rest her head on top of it. I decided not to leave her in there if she wasn't going to eat, and put her back in her tank.

Also, I haven't been handling her at all lately just in case this is due to stress. Her temps for the last 2 weeks or so have been 92-95 warm and 79-82 cool with a 25watt white light bulb over a 10gal. For a while I had it on a timer, but I figured the temps were getting too low at night (around 70) so now the light is on 24/7.

Still no weight loss and I've caught her drinking water recently. She spends most of her time either burrowed down below her aspen or cruising the sides trying to get out. I've only seen her use her basking hide a few times lately.

hmmm. i dig my hoggie up out of her little burrows then precent for 30 minutes. i use a pair of foreceps and dangle the fuzzy in front of mine and it takes it everytime. keep tryin! good luck.

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

with a 25watt white light bulb over a 10gal. For a while I had it on a timer, but I figured the temps were getting too low at night (around 70) so now the light is on 24/7.

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The white light is on 24/7? If so, that could be part of the problem, no day/night cycle can cause stress and throw her system out of whack.

I gave her a night cycle at first but decided to leave it on 24/7 since I was afraid that her night time temps might be getting too low. Without the lamp on, her tank goes down to low 70s. When it's on, its about 90-95 warm side and 80-85 cool. Should I start using my timer again even though it gets that cold at night?

Hi,

Actually your best bet would be to change the type of bulb to one that wouldn't disturb her while keeping the heat up and relying on ambient light in the room to give her a day/night cycle I think.


dr del

Thanks, I will give that a try.

I tried a live fuzzy the other day and all she did was hiss and mock strike at it. She seemed incredibly stressed out so I removed it after a few hours. I'm not sure what the deal is but she's just not interested in food right now. I haven't handled her at all lately and have switched to a CHE w/ ambient light provided the day/night cycle. Husbandry is as spot on as I can get it but she's not hungry. She did lose 2 grams and it's been over a month since she ate last. Should I take her to vet?

hmmm, your snake could be a wild baby, their nature food is usually toads, try rubbing a pinkie with a toad, i have heard that works with hoggies.

mine went off feed for a while right after i got her. i waited a month or so and then offered again. i feed frozen/thawed but she hates when i feed it to her. she gets stressed out and hisses. so i just put the pink on a plastic container lid and leave it in there for the day. if she eats, she eats.

mine too just went off feed. ive herd from some people that even though cage temps don't change, they will go into a semi-hibernation and not eat.

don't sweat it. try again in a week. and leave the room.

Like dr del said changing the bulb for the night cycle might help with stress. Both infrared and black bulbs are widely available and would provide heat without disrupting the night/day cycle. When I switched my BP over to f/t it would go several weeks between feedings. I started putting the warmed f/t feeder under the heat lamp for about twenty before trying to feed. If the snake doesn't go after it right away I put the mouse back under the lamp and try again in about twenty minutes. So far my BP has not missed a feeding with this method, and only twice have I had to place it under the bulb a second time. Keep on trying various methods and advice and you should find one that works.

Update: It's been 3 months and she's still not eaten. Last feeding was on 7/23. Each time I try to introduce food, she gets stressed out and starts hissing and striking. Her husbandry has been spot on using the recommendations here. She is kept 90warm / 80 cool with a ceramic heater emitter to maintain natural day/light cycle and about 30-40% humidity.

I've tried every feeding method I can possibly think of. I've scented with tuna, chicken broth, and even sardine juice. I've tried leaving it overnight, I've tried removing water for a few days, I've tried using live feeders, I've tried all sorts of stuff. However, I'll keep trying and hopefully luck will strike.

Do you have an update for us? It's been almost 6 months, I'm hoping your hognose finally got back to its feeding schedule?