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I need some advice & help! Hognose related

Quick update- he toppled his water dish so I had to change out his bedding & get rid of the soaked paper towel tubes, so I had to grab him and put him in another container. He feel sooo much smoother now - before he felt incredibly rough, and there he felt just rougher than my corn, but not by much. Very interesting.

I'm going to attempt a feeding either tomorrow or Friday, unless he shows any signs of shedding. He hasn't gone blue to my knowledge, and I've done visual inspections since Thursday and the previous owner said she didnt see any blue and that he didnt shed.
 
Awesome! I think you rehydrated him, which is why he is nice and smooth now :) I wouldn't expect a shed from him until he's had a few meals in him. If he hasn't been eating, he hasn't been growing... so my guess is there won't be a shed.
But, if you/he proves me wrong, I'd like to see a picture also!
Hope everything keeps going well for ya.
 
He unfortunately did not. I scented it with chicken skin, put it in a paper towel tube with one side shut, and he didn't eat - though he was VERY interested in it. When I put it in he kept smelling it, which leads me to believe it might be a visual thing, or maybe I need to use a fishier/froggier scenting technique.

I was going to try again probably Wednesday, didn't want to offer too quickly.
 
blast. well I think you did everything right ....!

maybe try fish scenting next time ..... I guess you have no idea what he was taking before the previous owner got him.
 
Nope. :( Live is an option, but I'd really rather that be a last ditch effort. I don't want the little guy to get hurt, he's probably weak/tired from what he's been through. :(

I'll try fish. Probably salmon juice, I can soak the pinkie beforehand and do overnight again. Hopefully if it's nice and smelly he'll go for it. lol.
 
if he refused that you could also try a piece of actual fish - mine always took lancefish/sand eel, dunno if you can get them where you are but they are sold as fish bait.

or a small piece of chicken.

trial and error really. you do have a double whammy of boy hogs being fussy gits anyway, plus the fact he was traumatised and you have little helpful history.

I'm sure it will come right in the end.
 
maybe try holding it infront of his face next time,I have heard their pretty visual feeders to, but I'm not an expert especially with hoggies..
..I hope he eats for you!

I've been following this thread and I hope this little Guy makes it for you"
he's a fighter.
 
I can get plenty of bait fish, but I'm not sure if lancefish or sand eel are local to my area? I'm on the Gulf of Mexico in FL. I can get all sorts of bait, but not sure about those two.

And yeah, I think he'll eat too. It'll just take some time. :p

If I do chicken, should I boil it up?
 
Thank you Justine! I think he will too. It'll just take time. Friday may have been too soon, even. Hopefully Wednesday he'll be ready. Because believe me, when he smelled the pinkie scented with chicken skin, he went crazy. He wanted it - just didn't bite. Maybe I should try to slip it in there while he's sleeping so he doesnt get scared of me, lol.
 
not a problem!

these guys arnt easy to get eating! coudos to you for taking the challenge on!!
and hopefully in couple days since you said he was intrested hell take it!!!

** fingers crossed **
 
It's so weird in comparison to my corn - he eats and then BEGS for seconds. Same with my crestie. He loves his lil' crestie smoothies. So this hog is preeeetty weird for me. But I like challenges, and if my corn stops eating in the future, I'll know what to do.
 
aha!

yeah that's exactly what my corn and milk are like, ALWAYS looking for seconds..
so yeah I can see how this would be a change for you... lol

but yes challenges are always fun!
especially when the rewards are as great as that little Guy! :eek:
 
I'm the same - every snake I had except my boy hogling would snatch food out of my hand and didn't care what it was, where it was, or pretty much anything else.

Maybe hognose experts could shed more light - but I suppose we are trying to get them to eat something that isn't totally natural to them. I think most 'can' be persuaded to get on an unscented mouse diet eventually, but - it can take a little effort.

Mine took chicken in any form - in fact the way I first discovered was I was defrosting some chicken in the microwave and there was one corner that was a bit freezer burned and got a bit cooked so I cut it off - really dry and manky looking - and I was holding my boy hog a bit later and saw the bit of chicken and just held it out to him thinking he wouldn't dream of it, and he ate it right in my hand!!!

Not sure what bait fish are suitable to be honest - I think you could try any of the fish that people give baby garters? I think strips of trout filet or white fish are used. Sand eels are good as they are whole fish so they get the bones, but I don't think it matters too much at the moment you just want him to eat something.

Another trick I have tried with mine was putting a pinkie AND a bit of fish in the food hidey hole, as sometimes when he got eating he would scoff the lot ...

sigh. if its any consolation mine is still a fussy so and so over a year later, BUT he isn't much smaller for all that than the girl hog I got at the same time who has always eaten like a pig...!
 
I have this idea... but not too sure if it will work for you. This is a technique I used with my ball python when he refused to eat, and I've offered it to others who have had non-eaters (ball pythons) with success. Now my ball python knows the routine every time, and as soon as the rat is on the tongs and the lid is open, he comes flying out!

First, I take the full thawed prey and put it in HOT water (inside of a baggie, with the baggie open and folded around a cup of the hot water so the mouse doesn't get wet) and place it beside the vive for 10-15 minutes to scent the air - maybe less if the mouse is small, as to not cook it.
I then turn out all lights except one in a far corner so I can see. I open the lid quietly, and take the prey in tongs. I jiggle the prey just a little, on the opposite end of the vive from where the snake is (so they know it's there, can smell it, but is not too close to frighten them). I wait a minute to see if they show interest, pop their head out of a vive, etc. When they notice, put the prey a little closer, until about 6" from them, in view. Then I do a bit of jiggling (some call this the "zombie dance"). I wait for the snake to come closer - I do NOT put the prey closer to them at this point, but allow them to move in. I kind of tease them with it, slightly pulling away when they inch closer.
Eventually they strike.

Now, for ball pythons, they would strike and coil it at this point, in which I would give the prey another little jiggle to get them to coil tighter.
I think you could do something similar with yours, if this tactic works. Even just giving it a little nudge so the snake strikes again.

I hope that this will at least give you some ideas to try out, if nothing else.
 
That sounds like a good plan for a visually oriented hunter, but hognose are a very, very different snake. I have never seen one strike, outside of the closed mouthed defensive thing. Even when eating live, they just press their noses in, open their mouths and chew. If it smells like food, they will try to eat it, even if "it" is their water bowl, sitting right beside their mouse. I should take some video on feeding day sometime. They are nothing like a corn or BP, or anything else I've kept. It's a miracle to me that they survive in the wild. I have often wondered how their vision is. And how smart they are.
 
bahahaha!

chip! yeah I know what you mean! almost every hoggy story I have heard said that they were not the brightest snakes.. lol and if they eat like you said, it seems like they would almost need to wait for a toad to jump right into there nose.. (I'm sure that's not actually hoe they hunt ) but honestly their just such odd snakes!

I seen I've viv of one eating its own tail! :(

and I would love you too show some feeding videos!
 
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