Hognoses compared to Ball Pythons?

More of a curiosity question but how difficult are western hognoses in comparison? I've been interested in hognoses and have them under my "someday/maybe future consideration snake" list but I've often heard they can be difficult eaters, sometimes almost more than bps?

If I were to ever want one, what would be the key things to keep in mind about their husbandry that is often overlooked? Or what big differences in expectations are there compared to ball python keeping?

My hognose has never given me a lick of trouble unlike my male ball python that goes off feed *constantly*. Although I have heard male hognose can be picky, I've also heard that the female ones eat like trashcans. They are also much much larger so if they do go off feed a bit you don't have to worry as much. So for ease of care I'd say female hognose is easier than a ball python. :)

If kept right they are pretty easy, and the best part is that they are inquisitive, have a great personality and are not prone to stress.

If you get a pet I recommend a female, males tend to be a little more difficult at times when it comes to food, females on the other end they will eat anything anytime.

Of course keep in mind that they are rear fanged venomous snakes and even if the venom is weak and the delivery system is poor reaction may vary. The good news they are not prone to bite (I am a bit magnet and this is the only species that never bit me)

I had one male for a little over a year. I just couldn't get him to eat consistently... He ate fine for me (unscented f/t pinkys) then decided to not eat for ~3 months... After that, would eat sporadically and fast in between. I ended up rehoming him to someone that could breed live mice for him, which he would actually eat more readily than f/t.

I'd say, if you are getting one, as was said above, go with a female. Also, I'd go with an established female that has been feeding well on f/t unscented prey items. My guy was little and had fed for the breeder before on f/t unscented, but I feel he wasn't really well established when I got him. Care is similar to other colubrids, although I think some people keep their hot spot warmer for them (I think I remember an interview I saw with the guy that owns extreme hogs saying that).

They def. have good personalities and are great looking snakes. I'd consider getting another in the future, but would only get a female due to the feeding issues I had with my male.

As far as ease of keeping hognose vs BPs is concerned, if you can keep a BP you can keep a hognose with no problem.

My boy is doing great for me and has been easy from the start. I followed Deborah's advice on fixing his husbandry and he's been thriving since.

I've had him just under a year now and he's only refused food for one 3 week stretch aside from refusing while in shed.

He handles super is, has a fun, inquisitive personality and is all around an awesome snake.

If you go for it, I agree with the others and say go with an established female. At least for your first hognose, take the chances of a stubborn male off the table and enjoy your new pet.

Hogs are mildly venomous so whilst a bite probably won't kill you it may not be very nice.

Hey thanks for the feedback everyone this is great info to know! I didn't realize females were easier eaters! I was originally considering a male due to size but now I'm definitely thinking female. Thank you everyone who chimed in about that! Especially glad you joined in Deborah!

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Originally Posted by artgecko

I'd say, if you are getting one, as was said above, go with a female. Also, I'd go with an established female that has been feeding well on f/t unscented prey items. My guy was little and had fed for the breeder before on f/t unscented, but I feel he wasn't really well established when I got him .

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I've been hearing about scenting and admit I'm unsure what this refers to. I'm guessing it's mixing smells with the prey item to entice a hoggie? To the point a hoggie might not eat anything unless it has a specific scent? Either way I'm taking a big note on that and hoping I can get a hold of an established eater on unscented f/t prey. Hoping breeders having their hogs on scented prey isn't common.

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Originally Posted by Valaryan

Hogs are mildly venomous so whilst a bite probably won't kill you it may not be very nice.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Of course keep in mind that they are rear fanged venomous snakes and even if the venom is weak and the delivery system is poor reaction may vary. The good news they are not prone to bite (I am a bit magnet and this is the only species that never bit me)

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I've been hearing about that and often heard reactions compared to bee sting or bad allergy reaction. Would you say that's accurate? Nothing fatal just super unpleasant? Hopefully I won't be one of the unlucky ones to have a severe reaction aha. If the off chance I do get bit and start to swell, what recommended actions should I take? Will swelling die down in its own or would I need to treat myself somehow?

I concern I did have is their low humidity requirements. I noticed where I live, especially in rainy seasons humidity indoors will sometimes be as high at 40-50%. In seasonal situations like that are there methods to safely reduce humidity? Would having dedicated fans running help?

It's going to be a few good years until I may get a hognose, but figured it would be a good idea consider potential troubleshooting or difficulties I may bump into. Plus I enjoy learning about things early :p

That being said, I'm new to morphs. Are there any red colored ones? I've seen albinos but wondering if there are any others.

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Hoping breeders having their hogs on scented prey isn't common.

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It actually is because when you breed you will always have a percentage that will need to be getting started on scented scented (it would be the step before having to assist which is very tricky with a 5 grams animal)

The key is to buy an well established animal sadly many breeders are in a rush to move animals soon as they hatch with hogs I consider my animals truly switched and established once they have ate 10 F/T unscented pink, seems like lot but buying an animal that ate 2 or 3 unscented or 2 or 3 F/T could mean trouble for a new buyer (scenting can be tricky and finding F/T pinkies close to impossible)

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I've been hearing about that and often heard reactions compared to bee sting or bad allergy reaction. Would you say that's accurate? Nothing fatal just super unpleasant? Hopefully I won't be one of the unlucky ones to have a severe reaction aha. If the off chance I do get bit and start to swell, what recommended actions should I take? Will swelling die down in its own or would I need to treat myself somehow?

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That is what I have heard and read, never experienced it for myself.

The worse I have seen it was this http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/heter...bate-over.html, sadly the picture are no longer up but the swelling was all the way up to the elbow, most other cases that I have seen was swelling of the finger and hand.

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I concern I did have is their low humidity requirements. I noticed where I live, especially in rainy seasons humidity indoors will sometimes be as high at 40-50%. In seasonal situations like that are there methods to safely reduce humidity? Would having dedicated fans running help?

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So long it's about 40% you are good, using a substrate that is dry coco coir (like reptile prime) or aspen will help so will having a small water dish (versus big one) and after that it's air flow. I live in the south so humidity during the summer is high and my animal do just fine.

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That being said, I'm new to morphs. Are there any red colored ones? I've seen albinos but wondering if there are any others.

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Yes there are reds those are line bred trait you have Red, Extreme Red and Purple Line

After that you have

Some recessive like

Albino
Axanthic
Pink Pastel
Toffee
Lavender.................

Co-Dom

Conda
Artic......

Here are a few sources http://www.extremehogs.com/Morphs.html , https://www.facebook.com/hognosemorphs/?hc_location=ufi and a great book https://www.amazon.com/Designer-Morp.../dp/B008B8DGHM

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Originally Posted by MissterDog

Hey thanks for the feedback everyone this is great info to know! I didn't realize females were easier eaters! I was originally considering a male due to size but now I'm definitely thinking female. Thank you everyone who chimed in about that! Especially glad you joined in Deborah!



I've been hearing about scenting and admit I'm unsure what this refers to. I'm guessing it's mixing smells with the prey item to entice a hoggie? To the point a hoggie might not eat anything unless it has a specific scent? Either way I'm taking a big note on that and hoping I can get a hold of an established eater on unscented f/t prey. Hoping breeders having their hogs on scented prey isn't common.





I've been hearing about that and often heard reactions compared to bee sting or bad allergy reaction. Would you say that's accurate? Nothing fatal just super unpleasant? Hopefully I won't be one of the unlucky ones to have a severe reaction aha. If the off chance I do get bit and start to swell, what recommended actions should I take? Will swelling die down in its own or would I need to treat myself somehow?

I concern I did have is their low humidity requirements. I noticed where I live, especially in rainy seasons humidity indoors will sometimes be as high at 40-50%. In seasonal situations like that are there methods to safely reduce humidity? Would having dedicated fans running help?

It's going to be a few good years until I may get a hognose, but figured it would be a good idea consider potential troubleshooting or difficulties I may bump into. Plus I enjoy learning about things early [emoji14]

That being said, I'm new to morphs. Are there any red colored ones? I've seen albinos but wondering if there are any others.

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I wasn't going to mention this but because you specifically asked ...

As regards Hoggie bites .. a photo tells a better story ..this is a genuine case of someone I know off another forum .
He had a very bad reaction and spent some time in hospital ..

Bit his finger but the swelling initially went past his elbow ..

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5a9088a817.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0963fd2981.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I wasn't going to mention this but because you specifically asked ...

As regards Hoggie bites .. a photo tells a better story ..this is a genuine case of someone I know off another forum .
He had a very bad reaction and spent some time in hospital ..

Bit his finger but the swelling initially went past his elbow ..

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Thanks for sharing Zinc! I prefer to be well aware of the bad and ugly as well as the good. Do you know how long they were in the hospital for and what treatment they got? How long was it before the swelling went down or until a full recovery was considered? Do you know if the bite was from a feeding response?