western hognose not eating

[johnnycash]

my western hognose that i purchased a couple months ago has stopped eating... it has refused pinkies for the last 3 weeks... ive tried once a week

it used to eat fine, i fed it about 3-4x without any trouble eating. now its like it gets upset when i try to give him a pinky... it just hisses and puffs at it, but doesnt seem interested...

when should i start worrying? its very small (8-10 inches) so i dont want it to miss too many feedings...

any ideas on what i could do?

[Hardwikk]

Leave the mouse in his enclosure and leave the room for 30 minutes. That trick always worked for me.

[waltah!]

Put him in a small tupperware type container (preferably round) with air holes cut. Put the lid on and cover with a towel or shirt. Leave him alone for an hour or so. That worked for me with a baby corn that would not eat her pinkys. I've been lucky so far with my hoggie as he has yet to miss a meal. Good luck!

[Colin Vestrand]

even at that size it will go a long time and be fine without food... i know from experience

just be patient, its normal. i think thats the reason the hog isnt more popular than it it.

[NateDogg13]

You can also try getting some type of frog or toad and keep the mouse in the same container for a few mins or rub them together to scent the mouse and then put him in a small container and that should do the trick. Ive had times were my hognose wouldnt eat til I scented it but never had a refusal when scented.

[bender29]

You can also try getting some type of frog or toad and keep the mouse in the same container for a few mins or rub them together to scent the mouse and then put him in a small container and that should do the trick. Ive had times were my hognose wouldnt eat til I scented it but never had a refusal when scented.

I also have a hog that has been refusing recently. What type of toad should I purchase in order to scent the mouse? Or will the canned-tuna method I've read in another thread work just as well?

[Hardwikk]

even at that size it will go a long time and be fine without food... i know from experience

just be patient, its normal. i think thats the reason the hog isnt more popular than it is.

What do you mean by normal? I've never experienced that! Sorry, I just don't want people to be reluctant when getting a Hognose.

[MRC]

I currently keepseveral hognose, and have bred them in the past. I now Westerns/Mexican, Eastern and Southern and for some reason they all seem to go of feed for a time for no apparent reason. I have noticed this to be more so with males.

I have all my more finicky feeder accepting salmon scented, tuna and toad scented pinks. They will grab them with gusto. I bought a can of canned salmon from the store. I dumped the contents in a freezer bag and froze it. Now when i feed the more finicky hogs, I rust rub the thawed pink on the frozen salmon and it has worked for every baby that is a reluctant feeder. You can buy a frog from the petshop. I have used tree frogs in the past.

[bender29]

I currently keepseveral hognose, and have bred them in the past. I now Westerns/Mexican, Eastern and Southern and for some reason they all seem to go of feed for a time for no apparent reason. I have noticed this to be more so with males.

I have all my more finicky feeder accepting salmon scented, tuna and toad scented pinks. They will grab them with gusto. I bought a can of canned salmon from the store. I dumped the contents in a freezer bag and froze it. Now when i feed the more finicky hogs, I rust rub the thawed pink on the frozen salmon and it has worked for every baby that is a reluctant feeder. You can buy a frog from the petshop. I have used tree frogs in the past.

I will definitely try the canned salmon method. Can it really be any type of toad/frog? I ask because I have a friend that has a Pacman that I could use to quickly scent (If it doesn't try to eat the pinky itself).

[MRC]

I don't know about a Pacman. I would stick with a North American species and would also opt to keep my fingers from being a Pacman snake. I would just buy a $5 toad from Petsmart and keep it alive or just freeze it. It's easier to scent with a frozen toad then you don't have to deal with the upkeep.