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Tell me everything you know about Hognose snakes...
2 months ago, my husband brought home our first ball python. Before that, I was deathly scared of snakes. But now, I'm in love with them and has finally gotten comfortable with them that I can handle them all by myself now. Yippee... Well then, my husband wants to know if he can get my son a hognose snake. Man, I was getting really good at the ball pythons, I've read everything I can find on them... now I have to learn about hognoses! Well, for some reason, there is no caresheet here... I read some general stuff out there on the internet but I find some conflicting information - feed mice, feed toads, feed crickets, feed live, feed pre-killed, etc. etc... I'm starting to get confused. There's eastern, western, mexican, dusty and they all seem like different sub-species and not just color morphs...
So, I'm asking anybody out here to please help me out!
Here is what I know so far. Please correct any mis-information.
1.) they have venom but they don't bite for self-defense. venom is only injected during feeding after some "chewing action". I translate this to "you are more likely to get bit by your ball python than your hognose". Correct?
2.) females go to up to 3 feet, males are more likely to stay under 2 feet.
3.) they are opportunistic feeders, meaning, they would rather eat dead stuff than have to kill the prey themselves. they eat all kinds of dead stuff, not just rodents. but, in captivity, they can live solely on mice (will they eat ASFs? I have a colony of those for my ball pythons). An adult hognose would need a large mouse once a week?
4.) they have a brumation period from October to December and will not eat for those 3 months.
5.) they need the same temperature gradient and humidity as ball pythons until October when the temperatures need to be lowered to 70-80 for brumation.
6.) no UVB requirements
7.) can live all their lives very comfortably in a 20 gallon long enclosure.
8.) need hides and waterbowl just like a ball python.
9.) need a deep substrate they can burrow in (aspen or reptile sand).
10.) My 7-year-old and 5-year-old sons will be completely safe handling a hognose.
11.) they poop a lot and stink to high heaven. we have hamsters, so this is probably not going to be a problem if it is true.
12.) a western hognose is easier to feed than any other kind of hognose.
What did I miss? Oh, I read about their "antics" like hissing like a cobra or rattlesnake and striking close-mouthed and playing dead (what a wierd snake!).
Thank you for your help!
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BP owner since Oct 2008, so yeah, I'm no expert.
0.1.0 pastel bp
1.0.0 spider bp
0.1.0 albino bp
1.0.0 bumblebee bp
1.0.0 yellowbelly bp
0.0.1 normal bp
1.0.0 normal western hognose
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
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