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New to hognose
i want to get a western hognose as a pet i already have a few balls and saw the western hognose on snakebytes and im in love any info at all about keeping them would be appreciated thanks
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Re: New to hognose
You can read through the posts on this forum, to get some detailed answers to common questions. But they're basically easy to keep, especially if you already keep other species of snakes. Mine lives in the same rack as my BPs, but I pull her tub slightly out to avoid overheating her - she still has a (small) hot-spot of 90 degrees, though, and ambients in my rack are around 75-77. Make sure to use a real substrate, rather than flat newspaper or towels, as they love to burrow and tunnel. They don't have any special humidity or lighting requirements, and I've never experienced a bad shed or RI with mine. Western Hognoses originate from the dry/hot Southwest & Mexico, so I assume they can tolerate heat fluctuations & lower humidity.
Feeding is fairly simple, as unlike BPs they usually take anything offered... just make sure if you buy a baby it's already well started on rodents, or you'll possibly have to toad-scent for a while. I fed mine f/t pinkie mice for a short time, then small fuzzies, and now (at maybe 8-9 months old) she's taking large fuzzies or small hoppers. Since they're rear-fanged venomous, they don't constrict or strike the prey, but just grab and start chewing. It's pretty cool to watch, actually. I've heard the males tend to fast in fall-winter, but females are known to feed consistently.
Finally, I have to mention their personality quirks! Most hoggies have a kinda unpredictable temperament, and can sometimes be a bit cage-agressive. They just put on a big show, huffing and puffing, and occasionally playing dead - although that's not too common in captive hognoses. Once you get them out they're cool, though, and even if they did strike it's usually with a closed mouth. My girl Charlotte is quite sweet and friendly, and doesn't even really show cage aggression... every so often she has what I call "Hoggie PMS," and will hiss & hood at me for a few days. But then she's right back to her friendly self a day later! Overall I really really love this species, and think they make a great addition to any collection. Good luck, and post pics if you get one.
Last edited by Lolo76; 08-18-2010 at 01:31 AM.
Lolo's Collection...
Ball Pythons: 0.4 Normals, 1.0 Pastel, 1.1 Mojaves, 1.0 Black Pastel, 2.0 Spiders, 0.1 Lesser, 1.0 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Honeybee
0.1 Spotted Python, 1.1 Stimson's Pythons, 1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
3.4 Corn Snakes, 1.1 Western Hognose Snakes, 1.2 cats, and 1.0 dog (47lb mutt)
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The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Lolo76 For This Useful Post:
franken_stein (10-29-2010),Slashrocks01 (08-18-2010)
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Registered User
Thanks for that post Lolo76! I came to this section of the forums to learn if there was anything drastically different from BPs... I am seriously interested in getting myself a hognose and I have a couple months' experience of keeping a BP so far. I don't know if I have the space for another snake But. Hmm. We'll see.
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I'm glad it was useful! And really, hoggies don't take up much space, especially if you keep them in tubs. Mine started in a 6qt Sterilite tub, and moved up to a 15qt about 4-5 months later... that should last another 6+ months, and then she'll be good in a 30qt(ish) for the rest of her life. They top out around 3-4 feet, so it's not ever going to require huge caging. Hate to feed anyone's addiction, but I really think you should get one.
Last edited by Lolo76; 10-31-2010 at 10:18 AM.
Lolo's Collection...
Ball Pythons: 0.4 Normals, 1.0 Pastel, 1.1 Mojaves, 1.0 Black Pastel, 2.0 Spiders, 0.1 Lesser, 1.0 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Honeybee
0.1 Spotted Python, 1.1 Stimson's Pythons, 1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
3.4 Corn Snakes, 1.1 Western Hognose Snakes, 1.2 cats, and 1.0 dog (47lb mutt)
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P.S. As an addendum to my earlier post, I now house Charlotte in a "colubrid-only" rack... she's with my 8 corn snakes, and I keep their hot spots at 81-83 degrees. She seems fine with that, and I think it's better than subjecting her to 90-degree tape. But they are fairly adaptable to different temps (within reason), from what I've read & been told.
Last edited by Lolo76; 10-31-2010 at 10:24 AM.
Lolo's Collection...
Ball Pythons: 0.4 Normals, 1.0 Pastel, 1.1 Mojaves, 1.0 Black Pastel, 2.0 Spiders, 0.1 Lesser, 1.0 Orange Ghost, 0.1 Honeybee
0.1 Spotted Python, 1.1 Stimson's Pythons, 1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
3.4 Corn Snakes, 1.1 Western Hognose Snakes, 1.2 cats, and 1.0 dog (47lb mutt)
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