Napoleon, 2008 Western Hognose

I never officially made this boy his own thread so I figured it was about time! I got him from Lauren (Hypancistrus) and Tara (whippet) at Daytona in 2010. They had originally got him from a member of this forum, John Q Reptiles.

His name then was Wyatt Earp but I have renamed him Napoleon, after George Orwell's "Animal Farm", which I figured was a perfect fit for this boy.

When I got him, he weighed in at about 32g. He has been a picky eater and frequently won't eat for a month at a time, then he will eat one or two meals then go another month without eating again. Regardless, he has grown into a breeding sized adult male western hognose at a whopping 75g. I imagine he doesn't have too much more growing to do. He probably won't get any larger than 100g.

I have him in a 15qt bin that seems to fit him well but he cruises around so much that I just might upgrade him to a 32qt so he can burrow more and stop filling up the water dish with aspen.

He also has such an attitude, but its all bluff. In his bin he huffs and he puffs and he bluff strikes but is puppy dog tame in hand. I open his bin and he will just come right out. If hes hungry, he charges out of his bin like a banshee!

Thanks again Tara and Lauren, I love this guy! I like him so much I would one day like to get a female (not to breed) just because he is so unique in his temperament and his looks! I was actually very tempted by a 650g female at Daytona this year but her $1/g price tag was a little much!

Here is Napoleon when he was a hatchling
(first two photos taken by Lauren and Tara)




As a yearling




And here he is when I got him in August of last year




Finally, here he is today! Very active and hard to take a good photo of though.








Thanks for looking!!! :rofl:

Oh wow, Angela!! He looks GREAT! We are psyched that he found such a great home. Glad to see he is doing well for you in spite of the fact that he continues to not be a very steady eater. I will make sure Tara happens across this thread.

aww he's soo cute! we are definately getting a western hognose one day--my husband wants to find one with an all black belly

He is handsome!!! I am in the market for a hognose, and I have found that they are pretty abundant where I live, so fingers crossed one will cross my path one day!

Tink

Hes awesome Angela, i love how they always look angry...lol

He has really really grown! That is amazing! What are you gut loading those mice with? LOL!

Im so happy I got him! Hes more than doubled in size even with his iffy feeding habits! He is probably the most personable snake I have! And always the star when people meet my snakes

CULEBRA85 said:

Hes awesome Angela, i love how they always look angry...lol

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Its so great! I love his angry look!

Lol everyone has hognoses and are tempting me! I wish I could come across one.. but I already have plans for more corns, a rat snake, and a milk snake. One day I will find room for a hognose too!

Great looking boy!

AliCat37 said:

Lol everyone has hognoses and are tempting me!

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I'll enable some more! Our male is pretty calm, in fact, he's only hissed at us once. I often hold him when I'm on the computer. hard to type posts with only one hand and a stray finger though! After a slow winter he's eating pretty steady, we're up to large pinks now! (He's just over a year.)

I keep thinking I'll get another one, but instead, we end up with another species entirely! We got a kitten this spring, and earlier this summer got our first tarantula!

Everyone needs one of these guys! They stay small (males especially) and even the females arent that big of a snake. They feel soooo different than corns with their keeled scales. And they are so funny looking, who could resist?

He's great! Every time I see threads about Hoggies I fall a little more for them. If only I could afford one of the morphs!

Do you ever get worried about him snapping at you? If a Hoggie bites you what happens? Do you get sick? Is there a danger of that or does the whole rear fang thing make it not too likely? I think that and the price tag (oh and the sporadic feeding thing which seems to be the NORM for hoggies) are the main things holding me back.

They do seem like spectacular little snakes though! Thanks for sharing the photos.

I would really like an axanthic but definitely out of my price range. Im hoping in a few more years some of their prices will drop.

Im not too worried about getting bitten. If hes particularly fiesty, I will remove him from his bin with a small hook. Once hes out, hes so calm and will just sit on my hand. From what I have heard/read, their fangs are so little (which I have seen while he eats), and of course rear-fanged, that it would be difficult for them to really even bite you. Unless you let them chew on your finger. It such a mild venom that you wouldnt need to seek treatment for the bite.

But, the times he has struck at me (actually its usually his mouse he is angry at), his aim is WAY off (like inches off) and hes just hitting with his nose. I have never seen him strike with his mouth open.

Its interesting in that even though they are technically venomous, permits are not required to have them as pets, and they are not even listed under venomous species.

http://www.herpnet.net/bite/

This guy really loves to eat now. He weighed in at 110g the other day! I dont really have a new full body shot, but here he is chowing down (butt first) yesterday. This guy is just so awesome and personable. Not a nasty bone in him. Until you see this first picture...

They are so cute when they eat!!!

Its been a while since I've updated this thread, but I got a bunch of them outside today since it was gorgeous out! Napoleon didn't know what to think at first, but got the hang of it and started exploring! He loved his outside time today

The third pic down was the only one taken in the shade.

He also got weighed... 125g! The little porker! And he measures 1ft 4in.