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.

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..

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.

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

Originally Posted by LampropeltisCollector

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

I am by no means any type of expert and just adding my .02 here from what I have seen and read about. I have a male that does exactly what you are saying. When he doesn't want to eat and you put food in he gets a bit grouchy. He is generally an excellent feeder and will strike from several inches away. When he is not interested in feeding he just hisses and false strikes. I just leave him be and move on to the next and wait till the next feeding date to try again. He does this every couple weeks and will skip one feeding. He holds his weight well and is very healthy. I personally wouldn't worry unless he really started losing a lot of weight or showed sign's of being sick.

This sounds just like what is going on. He has fed since but now when I tried to feed both of them neither one would eat. They are making me crazy. I am going to offer food again today. I did not realize just what picky eaters hognose snakes were. I will try to relax and not get worried if they don't eat on what I thinks there schedule should be. Thanks for the info. It was right on.

Kathy