hybernation?!

[Nyoka77]

Hi everyone!
Has anyone's hog ever gone into a "hybernation" phase?
Ever since Nyoka ate on wednesday, shes been inside her rock cave sleeping! Thats about 4 days she hasn't been crawling around! She came out to go to the bathroom and then went right back in. I made sure she was still breathing today..i was worried!
Maybe shes growing!?

[rickyduckworth]

i brumate (hibernation is slightly different, brumation is what snakes do, it's similar but they will come out on warm days and aren't totally inactive) my venomous snakes (local venomous, it gets below freezing in the winter here so that's natural for them) every year........some will do fine and feed all winter if i didn't, some would quit eating and eventually starve due to their metabolism staying active....when they get read, i drop the temps and keep it below 55 degrees where they are and they'll do fine all winter without food as long as i keep water in there.....they aren't totally "out of it" but aren't very active at all......

i've seen some CB snakes seem to prepare for brumation even though they've never experienced it......i wouldn't worry about what you're seeing, that's just him being a snake, but if he refuses to feed for over a month and he isn't sick, you may wanna let him try and brumate if you can.....if not, keep the temps as low as you can (some can't drop them low enough to validate not feeding them) and keep offering food every other week, give him plenty of water and just keep an eye on him.....my copperhead didn't eat for 8 months and now eats like a pig, so they can go without food for a LONG time...she's perfectly fine now.......

[Wilomn]

Most likely the feeding happened to coincide with an upcoming shed cycle. Most likely it will be blue in the next few days, then clear up, then shed and be ready to eat again.

I keep and breed hogs and now is not the time for sleeping.

[Nyoka77]

hmm ok thanks...
the thing is, she just shed about 3 or 4 weeks ago...
or maybe since she doesnt eat much (only twice in 5 months) it takes her a while to digest?

[rickyduckworth]

is this a WC or CB animal?

sounds like it could be parasitic or related to sickness.......doesn't sound like a healthy snake........sounds like a dose of panacur may help........

[Nyoka77]

Not sure what you mean by that... sorry...shes a western hognose, still a baby
Maybe I should take her to a vet? how do they pick up parasites..can they get them from the mice they eat?
i'm worried :(

[Wilomn]

Don't panic. I doubt you've got parasites. Can you post a pic of your snake?

[Nyoka77]

sure...here she is...
i took this about week ago

[Nyoka77]

she came out last night to sleep by her water bowl and dispose the rest of the mouse..shes back hiding again today

[Wilomn]

She looks fine fat and healthy there. Got one from today?

[ladyserpent7]

yah..she LOOKS good in the picture...she shouldnt be in brumation, but you never know..mine stopped eating once for four months, and i thought it couldve been because of brumation...even though shes captive bred and it was hot out...so it could well be shes just not used to eating, mice could carry disease though...just make sure the mice you feed her look healthy..one time i fed giselle a "bad" mouse and she stopped eating for two months..so just make sure theyre walking around and not tired looking. but i would suggest maybe try taking her to the vet just to see whats up..cuz its been happening a lot to your snake.

[antisocial]

There is no such thing as a "bad" mouse so long as it is alive and even thawed frozen mice are not a threat to your snakes. Coldblooded and warmblooded animals are not able to share diseases, sicknesses, viruses, or whatever your concern might be. The only major concerns you will have are mites, or your snake being bitten by the feeder and it becoming infected. Both problems can easily be addressed though, get your feeders from a good clean reliable source and check them for mites anyway. Keep your cage clean, and change your substrate often!!! Prekill your feeders, or at least stun them. Hognose don't strangle their food like many of colubrids do, mice will fight tooth and nail to the death so do your hog a favor and save him or her the struggle of trying to swallow a live mouse. If yoursnake does get bit or scratched badly clean it off and keep an eye on it. Healthy animals will heal just fine on their own.

[ladyserpent7]

hm..im gonna have to disagree w/ that a bit...if a mouse is barely able to move and very sickly looking..i personally wouldnt feed it to my snake, ..thats just me.

[Nyoka77]

Well, great news...
Nyoka has been eating everyweek.
This is the 4th week in a row:)
I'm able to watch and all...shes getting big too!
she takes about 3 to 4 days to digest completely by sleeping most of the time...then starting all over. I'm beginning to get used to her daily rituals

However, now to the next "dilemma"
I put the live fuzzy in her cage and she attacks it almost right away. I'm afraid that I'm training her to be aggressive in her cage. Next time I put my hand in to pick her up, could she think I'm food?!
I don't want to handle her before she eats by putting her in a deli cup etc.to eat since shes been so picky and gets stressed out easily.
Any thoughts?
I'll put a new picture up soon :)

[ladyserpent7]

well..sometimes that could propose a problem..has she hissed at you yet when you put your hand in...i know you feel that since you finally got her to eat you dont wanna mess that up in any way..but i still think you should get her into the habit of eating somewhere other than her tank...and besides..maybe the substrate she could digest could harm her....