strange behavior when trying to feed
 

I have just bought
two baby hognose. One common color and one purple. It's the purple one that
is acting strangely. He has been feeding very well on non scented pinkies. Now
I have tried to feed him twice today and he is very nervous striking and hissing
at the pinkie and will not feed. I thought maybe he is getting ready to molt but
his eyes are clear. Any clue to why he might be acting this way? I have not changed my feeding routine.

Thanks, Kathy

What are you keeping him in?
What are the temperatures?
When is the last time you fed him?

Maybe he just isn't hungry. Just because you might want to feed him, doesn't mean he wants to eat.

feeding
 

He is in a 5 and 1/2 gallon aquarium with cedar shavings. His temps are around 78 to 80 degrees and he has and under the tank heat pad that takes up 1/3 of the length of the tank. It has been 10 days since he last ate.

take the snake off the cedar as its highly toxic to reptiles.. might help..

feeding
 

Sorry I meant to say aspen shavings not cedar. He is not on cedar my mistake.
It has been about 18 years since I have kept snakes and I think I was having
beginner panic. He did finally eat last night. So I think the answer that said
he might not be hungry yet was correct. He is a very tiny purple hognose. So
cute. Thank you for all of your help.

Kathy

I am no hognose expert but I thought they usually eat more often then 10 days or so? I have read that some people feed their hogs like every 3 or 4 days when they are small? I don't know. Maybe he just wasn't hungry. I seen you said cedar and I immediately freaked out lol. I am glad you meant aspen though.

Are the 78 to 80 degree temps his hot side?? The cool side can be from about 72 to the low 80's or so but the warm side needs to be at least 90 degrees. If it is only at 78 degrees or so he probably doesn't want to eat because he is too cold to thermoregulate.

Just keep an eye on the temps. If the hot side isn't at 90 or 92 degrees, try to get it there.

feeding
 

I have a thermostat on the heat pads but it doesn't have a readout. I can dial up
or down the heat but I do not know what the temp really is. My next purchase
will be one of those digital readout attachments. The 78 to 80 is the air temp so i am hoping that the heat mat is in the high 80's.

Kathy

Hello,

Sometimes hognose just dont feed consistently. Do not stress it out by constantly offering it the food. Sometimes some of my hognose will do that, if they don't eat, then they wont be offered food till 3 days later. I have all species of true hognose, and I've seen it from Westerns and Southerns the most. Just make sure you dont stress the snake. Sometimes getting them live food triggers them as well, since hognose seem to be attracted to movement.

-Jordan

When mine give me trouble feeding I up the temps and put them in a smaller container. I keep my baby hogs in sandwich containers at 85 + - and they feed every 5 days. Out of the 10 we have 7 or 8 dont even off feed when in full blue.

feeding
 

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to answer my question on
feeding behavior. I now have a lot of information that I didn't have before and it has helped me a lot. I am so glad I joined there is a wealth of knowledge here and people are happy to share it. Thanks again

Kathy