Live feeding and hognoses!

[Mikekrause2000]

So ive had my hognose for a month now, i have been feeding him F/T pinkies, he eats about 3 pinkies.

Today i got a live pinky that was a little bit bigger then 3 frozen pinkies. I put it in the tank and he poked at it a bit, pushed it around a little, wore it as a hat, then scurried away!!!

I sighed and ran downstairs for a minute. When i came back he was eating the mouse, but not head first, butt first! AND alive!

They dont kill their pray? Constrict? toxins? anything? im afraid when he gets to eat live adult mice he will get hurt! What do i do?

[Mft62485]

My hognose doesnt kill first either, neither do my corns.

[MissDizzyBee]

I dont have a hog but my corn swallows them live given the chance.

[Aes_Sidhe]

Yea i had baby corn in FL before he gulp live pinkies like candies lol even if i upgraded to fuzzies he dont wrap around but smash them side ways.. and sometimes gulp them half alive as well.... nothing to worry about...

[Jorshaw]

This is a popular question. Hognose snakes are a non-constricting snake that does eat their prey live. As I am sure you know in the wild they feed on mainly frogs and toads. These prey items do not require being constricted however they do need to be "popped". This term is used when they use their rear fangs to puncture the frog or toad. This is due to their defense mechanism of blowing up with air to be more difficult to swallow. The toxin in their Salvia is due to over years of eating these potentially toxic animals the hognose's body has begun to develop toxins of its own. It is not true venom as it is not delivered by venom glands and does not contain the volumes of toxins necessary. The toxic saliva is coming out of a salivary gland. Even though a venom glad is a modified salivary gland those of the hognose are not evolved to that point. So relying on the toxin to kill a prey animal is not advised.
All food offered to a hognose should be either unable to physically harm the snake, such as a pinky (rat or mouse), or should be pre-killed (frozen or fresh). Meals should not be to large also if you are feeding live. Too large of prey being swallowed can still move too much and damage the internal tissues of the hognose.
I always feed my hognose frozen thawed food. It is so much easier and safer eventhough it is not quite as exciting.

I hope this helps

[Mikekrause2000]

awesome this answered a lot. thank you guys.

[Skiploder]

As I am sure you know in the wild they feed on mainly frogs and toads. These prey items do not require being constricted however they do need to be "popped". This term is used when they use their rear fangs to puncture the frog or toad. This is due to their defense mechanism of blowing up with air to be more difficult to swallow. The toxin in their Salvia is due to over years of eating these potentially toxic animals the hognose's body has begun to develop toxins of its own. It is not true venom as it is not delivered by venom glands and does not contain the volumes of toxins necessary. The toxic saliva is coming out of a salivary gland. Even though a venom glad is a modified salivary gland those of the hognose are not evolved to that point. So relying on the toxin to kill a prey animal is not advised.
All food offered to a hognose should be either unable to physically harm the snake, such as a pinky (rat or mouse), or should be pre-killed (frozen or fresh). Meals should not be to large also if you are feeding live. Too large of prey being swallowed can still move too much and damage the internal tissues of the hognose.
I always feed my hognose frozen thawed food. It is so much easier and safer eventhough it is not quite as exciting.

I hope this helps

Much of what you stated regarding the venom and their diet is incorrect. They have a varied diet that included avian, amphibian, mammalian and reptilian prey.

Regardless of the diet, heterodon of various types have the same rear fangs - even those who eat mainly mammalian prey.. Those fangs are for delivering venom, not puncturing or popping frogs and toads.

http://www.venomdoc.com/forums/viewt...hlight=hognose

Pay particular attention to the responses by "Venomdoc". Venomdoc is Bryan Grieg Fry - one of the world's foremost authorities on venom.

The toxin in their saliva has nothing to do with what they ingest in their diet. Some species have larger adrenal glands that assist them in not being affected by potential toxins in a toads skin. That, however, has nothing to do with them producing venom of their own.

[Skiploder]

To further clarify, hognoses of various types have different diets. Some mainly eat toads, others mainly lizards and mammals. Again, regardless of diet, all of those hognose species and their varied diets have evolved the same rear fangs and similar venom.

So the idea that the fangs are for popping toads is, while often claimed, not supported by evolution.

There are snakes (rhabdophis) that ingest the toxins in toads and make biological use of them. They do not, however, turn these toxins into venom, but secrete them from their nuchal glands for defense from predators.

[Jorshaw]

Ok look. I don't want to start a foolish forum war here but some of the assumptions you have made are faulty. First let me start with saying that in my post I stated that hognose snakes eat MAINLY frogs and toads. I did not say that they ate them exclusively. Most snakes are broad range opportunists, to clarify, not all snakes are but most. Some snakes do specialize.
And if you want to really get down to brass tax here when talking about the "Fangs" of hognose snakes that is really not the correct term. They are enlarged rear teeth. the term "Fangs" is reserved for a tooth like apparatus used for delivering a venom (in the cases of snakes). The enlarged rear teeth of the hognose do not deliver venom. They are neither a hallow delivery system, as in Viperidae and Elapidae, nor are they a grooved fang as in the venomous lizards. Also the enlarged rear teeth are not connected to a venom gland that produces, stores, and releases venom due to muscular contraction.

That is because the "venom" (another term thrown around when discussing hognose snakes) is not a venom. The substance being referred to is a toxin in the saliva. The system of toxin production and delivery in hognose snakes is very similar to, for example, the Northern Water snake. This snake produces a toxin with the same process as the hognose but the Northern Water Snakes toxin is a blood thinner. The toxin is in the saliva of the snake and when the teeth of the snake break the skin and cause bleeding the saliva in the mouth is able to flood over the wound and into the blood stream. The teeth neither direct nor deliver the toxin into the blood. This is the same process in hognose snakes.
As for the function of the enlarged rear teeth, you first have to distinguish the difference between the terms function and use when it comes to science. A function is the exact reason for the structure or behavior while a use is a possible reason that may be done with out the organism's knowledge. SO when taking those definitions the function of the enlarged rear teeth is to actually hold struggling prey. The uses of the teeth may be to pop frogs and toads, and open skin for the toxin to flow into the blood.
As for the evolution of the toxin and the enlarged rear teeth it is popular belief that both of these traits came from a common ancestor that the hognoses shared. This ancestor probably had a similar diet to the hognoses of today. And because of that diet evolved the beginnings of toxic saliva to counteract the toxins produced by its food and also enlarged rear teeth to help subdue its prey. This is backed up by the evidence that all of the existing hognoses have the characteristic up turned rostrum. This is believed to have been used for digging up the ancestors preferred diet of frogs and toads. Thus you can see the link between all species of existing hognoses, their enlarged rear fangs, and the formation of a toxin in the saliva. All changes in the content of the toxin is believed to be evolved after the split from the common ancestor. Again though this is the commonly accepted idea among scientists. Yes certain traits and attributes can be evolved in similar fashions among organisms that are unrelated for a long period of time. Convergent evolution is the term to describe this. An example of this is the marsupial mouse Antechinus sp. and common mice Peromyscus sp. Similar evolution and answers to similar problems but very different animals. But the species of hognose are very closely related and a common ancestor seems to be the more likely answer.

And just so people don't think I am just blowing smoke I would like to site just a couple of references I have obtained in acquiring my Bachelors degree in Wildlife Biology specialization in Herpetology for the University of Michigan.

1. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Great Lakes Region by James H. Harding. Professor of Science and private researcher of Herpetology at Michigan State University.

2. Reptile Care: An Atlas of Diseases and Treatments by Fredric L. Frye D.V.M, M.S, Fellow, Royal Society of Medicine.

3. Evidence of Mild Toxicity in Saliva of Hognose Snake (Heterodon) by Wayne H. McAlister. Published in the 19th volume of Herpetologica.

Thanks and once again I do not want to start a forum war but I think that it is important to give the most correct information possible to a person in need. I do realize that this is more then what the thread starter was asking for but I felt that it needed to be said. I think that you are a very educated person and that you obviously have a passion for reptiles and that is what the industry needs right now. I am very glad to call you a fellow herper.

[Jacob1023]

Good answer Jorshaw, but because you did not cite using correct APA format guidelines, I can not accept it.