Caring for your Western Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus).
The Western Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus) is a North American species. They are called Hognose because of their distinctive upturned nose. They use this nose for digging around in soil to unearth the toads and frogs that are their natural prey.They have a incredibly mild temperament and are relatively easy to care for. This makes them an ideal specimen for breeders, hobbyist's and new comers to snakes'. There are lots of new pattern and color morphs becoming available and it's no wonder that the Western Hognose is becoming so popular. In our short time with Hognose we have already noticed that they like fairly high temperatures, low humidity and plenty of natural light.
Also they do not seem to like being put into a environment that is too large as they can become insecure and refuse to feed. They seem to like a good size to space ratio.
The information below is intended to give the basics to successful Hognose snake keeping. This is a big learning curve for me too, so I will update this page as I learn more about this remarkable snake. If you have a suggestion please feel free to contact me.
Housing..
We have found that hatchlings seem to be happiest in small tubs like live food tubs or no bigger than 1Lt tubs with a small hide and water bowl. As the snake grows we move them up into 2.5Lt tubs then up to 5Lt Rubs at around 50 gms then 10Lt and so on right up to a 50Lt Rub for an adult female. We sit the tubs/rubs on heat mats with about a 3rd of the tub on the mat. Heat mats are controlled with the minimum of a mat stat set at 90' f. We use aspen or beech wood chips in all our set ups as Hognose love to burrow in it. However newspaper or kitchen roll is preferred by many as it makes it very easy to clean out the housing. Our viv's are set up slightly different as we use ceramic heat bulbs (with mesh guards) instead of mats. These are controlled by pulse stats and we use night sensors to drop the temp over night to give a more natural environment. We also use very low voltage led lighting in our viv's to help manage the hours of light the snakes get. water should be changed every few days and you must make sure they never run out. Cleaning the housing is very inportant and any fowling should be cleaned up as soon as possible and disinfecting should take place every few weeks with a harmless disinfectent. We use F10disinfectent on all our snake housing.
Feeding..The natural diet of Hognose's in the wild would be made up of Frogs & toads, mice, lizards, turtles, reptile eggs and occasionally carrion. Wild hatchlings may also eat insects. However captive bred Hognose usually have to stick to what can be purchased from your local reptile shop and this generally means frozen mice of varying sizes from pinkie's (the smallest) to large mice. The problem here is that some will simple refuse to eat defrosted rodents on their own which means scenting is required. This can be a particular problem in hatchlings. Scenting requires the pinkie/mouse rubbing or keeping with whatever scent is to be used for example a dead toad. Other ways to temp a snake to feed are to try different foods like Salmon or Chicken and once they are eating this start scenting the pinkie or mouse with whatever the snake is feeding on, then gradually reduce the scent until your snake will feed just on the rodent.
Please note though that Hognose hatchlings and adults can temporarily go off food during the winter and very early spring usually right before or during breeding season. This can cause great concern but you should try not to worry as they can go months without eating. They must have a constant supply of clean water but if not feeding we change this to an electrolyte that gives them lots of vitamins etc. We would advise you to keep charts of when and what your Hognose has been offered to eat, whether or not it was taken, the weight of your your snake and when it poo's and sheds. This can help you to understand feeding patterns and keep an eye on it's weight if the snake goes on hunger strike.
We feed all our younger Hognose twice a week on small meals rather than once a week on larger food. This helps to keep them active and we seem to get a better feeding responce from them. Our adults tend to feed once a week on larger meals but again we never over feed.
Below are some foods/scent's that can work well.
Salmon/trout or Scent from either can work very well.
Tuna or Tuna Scent
Cheap tinned dog tripe
Hot dogs or broth from a cheap hotdog can
Chicken Broth
Chicken or Scent
Boiled Egg
Egg Yolk
Brained Pinkies
Pinkies scented in any of the above
Lance Fish
Shedding..
You can tell when your Hognose is going to shed as it will milk up causing the skin (particularly the belly) and eyes to look blue. This will go and they will shed in the next few days or week. Please note again they may not eat whilst shedding. When they are about to shed it is a good idea to make sure they have something like a moss box to go into to help shedding also something rough for them to rub against to help pull the skin off. After shedding you should carefully roll out the old skin and check it has all come off the snake paying special attention to the eyecaps and tail to make sure they have all come off with the the rest of the skin. If necessary bathe your snake and remove any left over skin that has not been shed, use a warm towel or tweezers. this is to avoid infection or death of the tissue below it.
Heating..
We use ceramic heat bulbs in our viv's that gives us a good warm spot that reaches 87-90'(30-32'C) in the day, with the cold end reaching temps of around 84/85' we then let this drop off to about 80-82 at night. You can use ambient heating and if so your temps should be around 84-87(28-30'C) day time and 80-82 (26-27'C) during the night. Its a good idea to include a heat strip set to 90'F (32'C) at the back of your viv for a basking spot.
Lighting..
Western Hognose are primarily active during the day and we feel that a good light helps to keep them active. I tend to turn the lights on when I get up and turn them off again when I go to bed.
Sexing..
Hogs are quite easy to sex visually. Although probing and popping is an option usually just a quick glance at there tail will do. Generally the females tail is quite short and stubby where as the males is quite long. Females will have 30+ rows of scales after the vent and males 40+. Hatchlings can be difficult due to there small size and only experience helps here. Adults generally are quite easy to tell.
Illness..
Hognose are generally very hardy but as with all snakes Hognose can sometimes get ill especially if kept in poor conditions. I would always recommend seeing a vet if you have any doubts at all.
Mites.. Small black parasites on your Hognose Snake will feed on their blood. If your Hognose catches mites they can usually be found around the eyes, mouth and under scales. Your snake will be lethargic and could go off it's food. If you discover mites you should bathe your snake in warm water and fully disinfect the entire tank and contents. Put white kitchen roll in your viv and leave furniture to a minimum. Not only will this prevent the mites from being able to breed as they need substrate to lay eggs but it also allows you to see both the mites and your snake more clearly for monitoring them. Repeated bathing and disinfecting of the vivarium will help but you will probably need some sort of treatment. Reptile shops sell various treatments to help kill off the mites.
Respiratory Infections.. This is a bacterial infection that is normally brought on by poor cage conditions, too much humidity or low temperatures. It can however be passed from snake to snake. The snake may sound wheezy with excessive saliva and nasal discharge. The mouth may hang open as your Hognose struggles to breathe. If living conditions are poor correcting them may cure very mild R.Is but if in doubt or the infection is serious your snake needs to be seen to by a vet immediately.
Internal Parasites.. This tends to occur after stressful periods such as trauma from an injury, brumation, egg laying or a long fast. The symptoms may include loss in weight, refusing food/or complete failure to feed, regurgitating, runny/fowl stools or blood in the stools,. I would recommend seeing a vet in any of these cases but I always start by giving electrolyte full of vitamins both orally and bathing your Hognose in it for at least 10 mins a day as they absorb the fluid and vitamins through the body especially around the anus.
As already said please always see a vet first.
I hope the above has helped you. if you have a suggestion that you feel would be worth adding to this please feel free to contact me.
Kind Regards,
Stuart.
