Western Hognose

[katelynna]

Hey everyone! This is my little girl named Penelope. If you don’t know anything about hognoses, feel free to ask! What you read online can only give you so much information, as owning one teaches you so much more.

She is an incredibly beautiful normal morph, and, if I ever wanted to breed her (albeit unlikely), she is a 50% possible het axanthic. She’s almost 8 months old. She’s incredibly feisty, and her tank adorns a “Feeling sassy” magnet as a result. However, I’ve been working with her since the day I got her to make her less timid and, thus, less defensive. She hasn’t struck at me in over a month now! She’s an amazing eater, especially after her original breeder had issues getting her to eat.

Although they don’t require UVB lights, I noticed an incredible difference in her when I installed one, so for anyone considering one for their hoggie, I 1000000% recommend it. She calmed down significantly more with it.

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[CritterDepot]

I’ve always loved their patterns, and Penelope is no exception!   Are hognose snakes normally difficult to work with?  Or does it have something to do with the previous owner?  I know they can sometimes play dead, but I wasn’t aware they were a more challenging species to care for.

[katelynna]

I’ve heard that hognoses can be a little mean from a lot of breeders I’ve talked to, but they’re very easy to take care of! Handling is just difficult. Mine in particular has no issue being held, but she does NOT like being picked up. From what I understand, their temperament is a nature instead of nurture thing, so I think it’s just how she is. I think the last owner tried to handle her a lot more than I have, so that also may be why she’s calmed down a bit since I’ve had her. Luckily, they close-mouth strike, and they VERY rarely bite people. Generally that only happens if you’ve handled food and they smell it on your hands. They have a tendency to get excited to eat and will strike at anything moving. Feeding tongs are very important as a result!

[The_Reptile_Life]

They generally are fantastic eaters. It’s good to have something that will eat well so you know it’s getting its nutrients and not wasting your food. I’ve worked with a lot of hognoses and I’ve had ones that are really nice and then I’ve had some that want nothing to do with you. Through time and short and gentle handling sessions they usually calm down. Try to increase the time handling after the snake gets used to you. When you first pick up the snake is the determining factor for how the interactions will go. Try to be confident picking it up. Go quickly but not so fast that you scare it but you dont want to hesitate and tickle it. I’ve found just going in and picking them up, supporting them as much as possible, works best. Also try to pick them up from the center as opposed to the head or tail.

[katelynna]

Those are some awesome tips! I’ve been waiting until she quits hiding when I go to feed her before I really start to try to handle her. If she thinks I’m going to pick her up every time I see her, I don’t think she’s going to adjust well. I just found it interesting how she has no problem being held. She’s very explorative, and I think she likes looking at new things. It’s just the act of picking her up that she doesn’t like. But I will definitely keep these tips in mind! Thank you so much!

[Zoodulcis]

Awesome tip about the light, and very useful for beginning keepers or future keepers.  She will get bigger than this, right?

[katelynna]

Oh yes! She’s only getting to be about 8 months old, and I believe she’s almost a foot long now. It will take several more years for her to be fully grown. She’s a female, so she’ll be a little bigger than a male would. Females generally will be almost 3 feet long, and males will usually be 2 feet or less. They tend to look a little hefty, and their short stature doesn’t help that.

[The_Reptile_Life]

I’ve noticed that the benefits of UVB on snakes is astounding. I’ve seen snakes totally change personalities because I installed a UVB light. I’d also recommend it even though it’s not required. You said that you may breed her one day; do you have any other hognose snakes?

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by The_Reptile_Life.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by The_Reptile_Life.

[katelynna]

It’s very unlikely that I would breed her, but I will never say never! I don’t have any other snakes other than her actually. If I do breed her, it won’t be in the very near future. She won’t be ready to breed for over a year anyways. My current living situation doesn’t allow for much more room for another snake, but I’m heavily considering getting a corn snake next. If I did decide to breed her or any other reptile I acquire, it won’t be for quite some time.

[The_Reptile_Life]

Corn snakes are a fantastic pet snake. However they are escape artists so make sure you have a very secure lid. I would also recommend king snakes. King snakes come in all kinds of patterns and colors and the don’t get very big. Both corn and king snakes are very good eaters as well. My corn snake was very shy with eating and wouldnt eat unless he knew no one was watching. Except when I gave him his favorite food, finch eggs.  He would devour those.

[katelynna]

Oh interesting! Yeah I know a lot of snakes are escape artists, but hognoses aren’t as much. I love kingsnakes as well, especially when I see them on our property! They’re keep rodents and not-as-friendly snakes at bay. I’ll definitely keep them in mind as well! I didn’t know you could keep them as pets.

[The_Reptile_Life]

You should check your local laws on what you can and can’t keep before you decide. Some places have different laws. In Pennsylvania we have pretty strict laws. Make sure you aren’t doing anything illegal.

[Reign]

Will hopefully have my own sometime in the near future she is awesome thanks for sharing!

[paula burston]

Hi she looks gorgeous.i have just got a 4 year old normal female hognose.she has eaten twice for me no problem.she is Viv defensive and hissy but I am persisting in handling her.i think she is a lot calmer however she keeps trying to eat my clothing.she does not strike she just acts as if trying to burrow then just opens her mouth and bites my clothes have to get a card to undo her teeth.can you tell me what this is about?

[Zoodulcis]

There are many reasons why she may be acting out in a territorial way. Knowing exactly how long you have had her would be extremely helpful in advising you. Your post mentions ‘just got’. Can you be more specific?

[christina]

Hi, I recently posted about my hognose who is being very difficult when it comes to eating. It’s been about 2 months since I’ve gotten him to eat anything. If you could took a look at my post and maybe have any tips for me that would be amazing and greatly appreciated!!!

[Zoodulcis]

I am glad to help out. I am away from my home office today, but first thing tomorrow morning I will review all of the posts and then post what will probably be a series of questions to help with diagnosis. I should have some questions and thoughts for you before 10:00 AM MT.

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