Feeding and handling

Hi everyone. I bought my first snake, a western hognose juvie 3 weeks ago. I was told he is about 6-7 months but is super tiny about 6 inches. Does this sound typical for a male that age? I havent weighed him. I was also told to feed him a pinky once a week. I waited a couple of days after I got him to feed so he could settle in. I offered him a pinky and he took it immediately. A week later I offered another and also took it. Now i recently started reading online that hogs should be fed more often. The more research I do the more confused I get, since some sites say to feed once a week and some say 2 or 3 times a week. I figured for a growing baby maybe twice a week would be more appropriate? I fed him wednesday and then offered another pinky today and he took it right away as well. How often do most of you feed your hoggies? Also, I have read not to handle snakes 24-48 hours after feeding. If I feed twice a week that really limits the amount of days I can handle the snake. How do you guys go about this?
On a side note, the little guy hissed at me first time yesterday and then again today and it broke my heart . I know hogs tend to be bluffers and will try not to take it personally haha

Ok. Not an expert, but here is what I settled on.

I feed once a week, prey big enough to leave a noticeable lump in the snake. About the same size as the biggest part. I do weight them, so if they are losing weight, I up the feeding. I don't plan on breeding for 3-5 years, so growing them slowly is fine for me. Remember in the wild they eat when they can. Some times they come on a nest of rodents and will eat 3-7 of them all at once. Sometimes they will not find anything for a month.

As long as they are gaining weight, I consider it a win. I don't power feed. I also think that feast and famine cycles may help with long term survival, but I don't have anything to back that up.

As for size, it seems to be ok. I have about the same age animals and they are about the same length. But you need to focus on weight. As long as they are gaining weight, you are ok.

As for hissing and defensive behavior. The best way to deal with it is time. don't let the hissing work. Unless he is completely freaking out, don't let it drive you away. If you are holding them, keep calm, and hold them until the hissing and striking is done. If they are in the cage, just wait until the stop, then move on. Open the cage randomly and calmly. You need to get them to know that you are not a threat. Only way to do that is to get you interacting with them in which ends on a good note. You need them to understand that defensive behavior will not work on you. Once they understand that, they will stop doing it.

It will take some time, but it will work.

You've probably seen this already, as it is in this very forum, but just in case you missed it ...

Have a look at this thread about handling and hissing. There's a fabulous video of a hognose being terrifically feisty

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=564305

Males generally stay much smaller than females, so if he's not growing super fast I wouldn't be terribly concerned.

I personally feed twice a week (Sunday and Weds) but like Dan said, as long as the snake is gaining weight then I wouldn't worry about frequency. I've noticed they have a very high metabolism, and even if they look bulged after feeding they usually are back to normal in a day or two. If you prefer to spend more time handling then I would stick with once a week, if you're concerned about size then you could try giving more than one pinky at a time (just don't gorge him).

Hissing is super normal for these guys, they LOVE to act tough lol. It cracks me up every time how much they huff and puff.

With regular handling your hognose is probably going to drop the hissing or it will become a lot more uncommon at the least. As far as feeding I would personally feed it twice a week if it is taking. Feeding once a week is fine too as long as it is gaining weight like someone else said. Some may disagree, but handling it after 24 hours is usually fine. Hognose's have high metabolisms and they will digest a pinky/fuzzy pretty fast. However I just don't see the need in handling the snake that much. For me two times a week is enough.

If you want to hold it more just get another one and put them on different feeding schedules. I think that will be my excuse to get another one.

Originally Posted by MrTPlush

If you want to hold it more just get another one and put them on different feeding schedules. I think that will be my excuse to get another one.