Help with getting hognose to eat

[Billy1222]

Anyone have any ideas for getting hognose to eat my hognose won't eat he's just not interested and just seems to get super stressed anytime we try. He hasn't eaten for almost 3 weeks but the breeder I bought him from said not to worry that he will eventually any tricks or ideas would be appreciated

[SnKReptiles]

There are loads of ways people suggest to help getting your hognose to eat, scenting with toads, tuna juice, chicken hearts, chicken broth, another strong smelling fish. Putting them in a smaller enclosure to make them feel more secure can also help. I have a hognose that last ate on the 18th January shes under one year and nothing worked and a few weeks ago she just started eating again with an unscented pinkie. Nothing had changed so not sure why she started eating again or why she stopped in the first place. Keep an eye on its weight and if it's not losing any I wouldnt worry, mine didnt lose any weight in all that time. If it is you may need to bring it to a vet.

[SnKReptiles]

Also try not to annoy it too much as it may associate food with stress, offer and if not interested leave it in with it for a few hours or overnight sometimes that works.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Scenting right now is the last thing to think about, you need to proceed in order.

What is his weight obviously it is important to see if there is a reason for concern or it is a normal thing your hognose does?
What type of enclosure do you have it in? (Size)
What tempertures do you provide?
What substrate do you provide.

[Billy1222]

So he is 17 grams I've only had him for 2 weeks. we did have him in to big of a cage at first but figured it out quick and moved him to a shoebox tupawear. We use aspen for his beading and have been working to get his temps up to 88 so far it's been good with temp. Haven't tried feeding again it's been about 4 days since last attempt.

[Craiga 01453]

My two cents: follow Debra's (Stewart Reptiles) advice to a T.

A few years back I was tasked with helping a friend get her hognose eating. Deb got us on track in no time. Long story short, Cosmo is now a beloved member of the family three plus years later.

[Billy1222]

Will do just want to get my guy eating sure it's stress and nothing to worry about but just want some better advice for sure so he's eating normally for us

[Stewart_Reptiles]

So he is 17 grams I've only had him for 2 weeks. we did have him in to big of a cage at first but figured it out quick and moved him to a shoebox tupawear. We use aspen for his beading and have been working to get his temps up to 88 so far it's been good with temp. Haven't tried feeding again it's been about 4 days since last attempt.

You are correct at that size it is still small so you definitely want something along the lines of 6 quarts at the very most which is still plenty big.

Can you tell me how you feed him? Do you use tongs to feed or simply leave the prey on the floor of the enclosure.

Also do you have a past feeding record on how often and what your hognose was eating?

[Billy1222]

So I've tried tongs and he refused it just puffed at it then burrowed and stayed under his substrate all night I left it in there as well in hopes he would take it. I've tried just putting it in there on a dish and he still didn't touch it. So the breeder I purchased him from said they were feeding him f/t pinkies once a week. I was going to attempt to try and feed him today its been about 4 or 5 days since I tried

[Stewart_Reptiles]

So I've tried tongs and he refused it just puffed at it then burrowed and stayed under his substrate all night I left it in there as well in hopes he would take it. I've tried just putting it in there on a dish and he still didn't touch it. So the breeder I purchased him from said they were feeding him f/t pinkies once a week. I was going to attempt to try and feed him today its been about 4 or 5 days since I tried

What you want to do right now considering the size is keep offering by laying the prey down in the enclosure until the next morning, in my experience young hognose take time to get used to tongs and are often afraid of them, so much so I don't even use them anymore with my hatchlings until they reach about 20 grams.

Once the animal does start eating you do want to feed every 3 to 5 days until it reaches 50 grams or so, one of the biggest mistake is not to feed them enough and between their fast metabolism and the fact that pinkies are not very meaningful it often leads in animals that are not where they should be by the time they reach a year of age.

If your hognose still does not feed after 2 to 3 attempts the next step will be to downsize to a 2.7 quarts tubs (those are very small but similar in size to what breeder use, breeder often used what is referred to pencil tubs)

Than after that while a slight step back it will be about scenting and I will than give you a list of what works best.