1 Topic by ball_python77

  • ball_python77
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  • From: Lepanto, AR
  • Registered: 2005-04-10
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Topic: hognose

today i got lucky and captured my first hognose on a highway between two sandsy cotton fields it was docile and beautiful it was a red phase prolly a year old and had a nice rust color he is about a foot long and i decided after a little research taht he will make a decent pet and will house hime in a ten gallon tank until i get a larger one or he grows out of it toads are aplenty near my house so food shouldnt be a problem o and my cousin caught a blue racer today so it was a good day  wink

Ready for school to let out so i can work and catch snakes (i work on a farm so i see lots of them)

2 Reply by Mulebrother

  • Mulebrother
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  • From: A bunker near Mountainburg
  • Registered: 2003-04-17
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Re: hognose

Great find...hognoses are cool...
I would make a suggestion though...if you want to keep it as a pet, I would try to let it go sometime this fall (sept/oct).  I have had good luck with wild caught ones feeding on toads/frogs, but not much else.  When it gets cold and the frogs/toads disappear, unless you have a pet store and the money, it will be lean times for your hognose.  Keep that in mind before you decide on keeping it over the winter.  I have never had a wc specimen that fed on mice...

Government is not the solution Government is the PROBLEM...Ronald Reagan

3 Reply by Anonymous

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Re: hognose

One option if you didn't have access to toads/frogs during the coldest part of the winter would be to brumate (hibernate) the snake until the amphibs come back out. It would be easy enough to do, especially since the snake is wild caught and has already brumated at least once. Just begin dropping temps gradually over a two week time period in late Sept/early Oct. By mid to late Oct, temps should be between 55 and 65 F. Keep plenty of fresh water available at all times, but keep it dark for the snake and cool. Try not to let the temps drop below 50. To achieve these kinds of temps, you may be able to place the enclosure in a closet, attic, garage, etc. Just depends on your situation. Then by about Jan or Feb, when you start hearing frogs calling, gradually raise the temps over the same time period as you used to lower it. After a week or two at normal temps, the snake should go into a shed cycle, after which you could begin feeding again. Brumating like this is necessary in breeding most US colubrids, but also really helps with snakes like this that prefer certain prey items not available all year.
-Chance

4 Reply by Mystic-B

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Re: hognose

We had a hog for a time--- loved him! We kept him through the winter-- but he refused to eat-- even F/T toads that we froze in anticipation for the season. We tried a variety of things but he chose to hide and act like he was hybernating. It wasnt "cold" in his tank, but dark and cool. He didnt seem to loose any body mass- so we werent really overly concerned.

Come spring though- he started eating again ravenously! We even let him have a couple live toads,  but apparently it was too much for his body cause I found him doing a death roll about two weeks later. sad     My best guess is that he became impacted from the bugs the toads had inside them. I dont know, beyond that.

5 Reply by Anonymous

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Re: hognose

well, speaking of hogs, i just caught a hognose down here in florida, my first one since i was 11! it was all black with little red specks on its sides!

Tyler