Baby western hognoses hatch at around 5-7 inches long and will grow to an average length around 20 inches, and most often weighing less than one pound when full grown. Females grow to be larger than males, up to about 3 ft, though weighing no more than 2 lbs. Males usually measure between 14-24 inches.[1]
Where Can I Get A Hognose Snake?
Eastern hognose snakes are native to eastern North America from southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England south to Florida. They prefer woodlands with sandy soil, fields, farmland, and coastal areas. At the Zoo, you can see hognose snakes inside the Giant Tree in the Maryland Wilderness.[2]
What Does A Western Hognose Snake Eat
The western hognose snake uses its upturned snout to burrow through the earth in search of toads, its principal food. Other items eaten include frogs, lizards, mice, birds, snakes and reptile eggs. Not dangerous to man, the western hognose snake uses a slightly toxic saliva to help subdue its prey.[3]
What Can You Feed A Hognose Snake?
Hognose snakes are carnivorous and can eat a variety of creatures. The most common meal in the hognose snake diet is amphibians like frogs and toads; they’re highly susceptible to their venomous bites. However, they can also eat mice, bugs, and both lizard and bird eggs.Dec 4, 2019[4]
What Do You Feed Western Hognose?
Western hognose snakes are carnivorous and should be fed frozen thawed foods. Though they are opportunists we have found that mice are the best diet for a western hognose snake. A particularly large western hognose snake may move on to the smaller rats when fully grown but an all rodent diet is best.[5]
Do Western Hognose Snakes Make Good Pets?
Hognose Snakes make great pets.
They’re easy to maintain and have minimal food and housing requirements. You just need to make sure you get their temperature and humidity correct and give them adequate substrate depth to burrow.[6]
How Do Hognose Snake Protect Themselves
In response to being preyed upon by so many species, the eastern hognose snake has several theatrical defense displays. When first threatened, they will imitate a cobra by sucking in air and puffing up the skin around their head and neck. They will then hiss and lunge at the predator.[7]
How Does A Hognose Snake Defend Itself?
Many would-be predators, fooled by the hognose snake’s self-defense tactics, choose to leave it alone. Hognose snakes are nicknamed “puff adders” because when threatened, they puff out the skin around their necks and raise their heads off the ground like cobras. They may also hiss and lunge at their attackers.[8]
What Do Hognose Snakes Use Their Nose For?
Obviously, the hognose’s namesake is the hog— an animal that uses its upturned nose to dig in the ground for food. Hognose snakes use their noses for the same reason, and they burrow in order to eat. Typically, food that can be found through burrowing is small prey like insects, eggs, and small rodents.[9]
What Do Hognose Snakes Do When They Are Scared?
Hissing loudly, they strike repeatedly. This is considered a bluff. If the feared predator does not retreat, the snake often rolls over on its back and plays dead.[10]
Why Do Hognose Snakes Flatten Their Head?
The hognose snake is sometimes called the puff adder. When it is threatened, it raises its head and puffs out and flattens the skin around its neck – like a cobra. It hisses loudly, and lunges towards the threat. It is all a show![11]
How Long Does A Hognose Snake Live
Lifespan: The lifespan range is 9-19 in wild and 15- 20 in captivity. Conservation Status: In Minnesota the Western Hognose Snake is a species of Special Concern. Predators include hawks, crows, fox, coyotes, raccoon, and larger snakes. Hognose Snakes are collected for the pet trade.[12]
How Long Do Hognose Snakes Live As Pets?
How long do western hognose snakes live? In the wild, western hognose snakes live an average of 14 years. Well cared for in captivity, they can live up to 20 years.Jul 8, 2020[13]
Are Hognose Snakes Good Pets?
Do hognose snakes make good pets? Yes! Hognose snakes are some of the best pets for reptile enthusiasts. In fact, they’re an excellent compromise snake; they’re more exotic than a gecko but less fussy than a ball python.Dec 4, 2019[14]
How Much Does A Hognose Snake Cost?
Choosing Your Hognose Snake
Expect to pay around $100 to $500, depending on the species and age of the snake. It’s up to you to decide whether you want an adult snake or a hatchling. If you have limited experience with snakes, you might want to choose a hatchling.Jan 27, 2022[15]
How Long Is A Full Grown Hognose Snake?
Both species are heavy-bodied and blotchy, and they grow to about 60 to 80 cm (23.6 to 31.5 inches) in length. The southern hognose snake (H. simus), which occurs from southern Louisiana to southern North Carolina and southward to central Florida, is smaller, growing to a maximum length of 61 cm (24 inches).[16]
How To Feed A Hognose Snake
What Do Hognose Snakes Eat? – ReptiFilesreptifiles.com › Hognose Snake Care[17]
How Often Should I Feed My Hognose Snake?
When managing a baby hognose snake diet, it’s generally recommended that you feed it every 5 or so days. Once it grows into an adult, you can space out feeding sessions to once every week or every 2 weeks. Remember to only feed your hognose snake appropriately-sized meals to avoid regurgitation.Dec 4, 2019[18]
Can You Overfeed A Hognose Snake?
If it is too large, your snake may regurgitate, which is extremely stressful for the snake and can be dangerous to their health. For this reason, it’s better to offer multiple small meals rather than one big meal. Simply wait until the hognose has finished swallowing one prey item, then offer another.[19]
Are Hognose Snakes Picky Eaters?
These adorable snakes are known for their upturned snouts and the way they play dead in the wild— two traits that make them popular pets. However, they can also be picky eaters depending on a range of circumstances. This behavior has been observed in baby hognose snakes, subadult hoggies, and even fully-grown adults.Jul 7, 2020[20]
How To Care For A Hognose Snake
Western hognose snakes, as with most pets, require a clean environment to thrive. We recommend a spot clean as often as possible (every day) and a full clean every 4 weeks or so. If you are keeping the snake in a bio-active enclosure you can spot clean and monitor the enclosure.[21]
Are Hognose Snakes Easy To Take Care Of?
Western Hognose Snakes are some of the easiest snakes to care for. They are timid, and can commonly be found hiding in their habitat. But although timid, they are still unique, and have their own habitat, feeding, and sanitation requirements.Nov 18, 2018[22]
Are Hognose Snakes High Maintenance?
Cage Maintenance
Western Hognose Snakes require minimal maintenance as they usually excrete small amounts of semi-solid fluid. Aspen bedding allows for quick cleaning of feces using one of our scoopers. Be sure to add fresh bedding after scooping waste to maintain enough substrate for burrowing.[23]
What Do Hognose Snakes Need?
Hognose snakes need a daytime basking area that reaches 90°F – 95°F. A basking bulb should be placed over a flat rock and should be on for 12 hours each day. The tank’s ambient temperature should be between 80°F – 85°F and the cool side should never drop below 70°F.Sep 29, 2020[24]
How Big Of A Tank Do Hognose Snakes Need?
Terrarium Size
The minimum enclosure size recommended for housing a single western hognose is 18”L x 18”W x 24”H. However, when it comes to choosing a terrarium for pet reptiles, keep in mind that larger is always better! Multiple hognose snakes should not be housed together in the same enclosure.Feb 1, 2021[25]
How Often Should You Feed A Hognose Snake
How often should I feed my hognose snake? When managing a baby hognose snake diet, it’s generally recommended that you feed it every 5 or so days. Once it grows into an adult, you can space out feeding sessions to once every week or every 2 weeks.Dec 4, 2019[26]
How Often Should You Handle Your Hognose Snake?
To keep your hognose comfortable with human interaction, handle it 1-2x/week, but no more than 1x/day. It’s good exercise, but more often can stress them out, especially if your hognose is young.[27]
How Long Can A Hognose Snake Go Without Eating?
It can be scary when your pet goes off of food but so long as the Western Hognose is not showing signs of illness, dehydration, or weight loss the animal can go without food for months with no ill effects. Remember to only change or try one thing at a time and allow for a week in between trying other options.[28]
Can You Overfeed A Hognose Snake?
If it is too large, your snake may regurgitate, which is extremely stressful for the snake and can be dangerous to their health. For this reason, it’s better to offer multiple small meals rather than one big meal. Simply wait until the hognose has finished swallowing one prey item, then offer another.[29]
How Much Should A Western Hognose Eat?
Diet & Water
As hatchlings, western hognose snakes should be fed weekly on defrosted pinky mice, as the snake grows the food size should be increased until the snake is taking large mice or even jumbos. Adult western hognose snakes can be fed once every two weeks as they can become overweight if fed weekly.[30]
Resources
[1]https://explore.berkshiremuseum.org/digital-archive/fact-sheet/howdy-hognose-facts-about-the-solitary-crepuscular-western-hognose-snake
[2]https://www.marylandzoo.org/animal/eastern-hognose-snake/
[3]https://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_hognose_snake.php
[4]https://reptilinks.com/blogs/news/17-frequently-asked-questions-about-hognose-snake-care
[5]https://www.reptilecentre.com/info-western-hognose-snake-care-sheet
[6]https://ballpythonbreeder.co.uk/2022/02/14/do-hognose-snakes-make-good-pets/
[7]https://www.wiltonpreserve.org/conservation/eastern-hognose-snake
[8]https://www.marylandzoo.org/animal/eastern-hognose-snake/
[9]https://reptilinks.com/blogs/news/why-do-hognose-snakes-play-dead
[10]https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/reptiles_amphibians/easternhognosesnake.html
[11]https://nhpbs.org/wild/easternhognosesnake.asp
[12]https://carpenternaturecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Hognose-Natural-History.pdf
[13]https://explore.berkshiremuseum.org/digital-archive/fact-sheet/howdy-hognose-facts-about-the-solitary-crepuscular-western-hognose-snake
[14]https://reptilinks.com/blogs/news/17-frequently-asked-questions-about-hognose-snake-care
[15]https://www.thesprucepets.com/hognose-snakes-1238131
[16]https://www.britannica.com/animal/hognose-snake
[17]https://reptifiles.com/heterodon-hognose-snake-care/what-do-hognose-snakes-eat/
[18]https://reptilinks.com/blogs/news/17-frequently-asked-questions-about-hognose-snake-care
[19]https://reptifiles.com/heterodon-hognose-snake-care/what-do-hognose-snakes-eat/
[20]https://reptilesmagazine.com/how-to-get-your-hognose-snake-to-start-eating-again/
[21]https://www.reptilecentre.com/info-western-hognose-snake-care-sheet
[22]https://www.thecritterdepot.com/blogs/news/the-ultimate-hognose-snake-care-guide-the-critter-depot
[23]https://www.bigappleherp.com/pages/care-sheet-for-western-hognose-snakes
[24]https://www.everythingreptiles.com/western-hognose-snake/
[25]https://www.thebiodude.com/blogs/reptile-and-amphibian-caresheets-with-cited-veterinary-and-herpetology-sources/western-hognose-care-sheet-and-maintenance
[26]https://reptilinks.com/blogs/news/17-frequently-asked-questions-about-hognose-snake-care
[27]https://reptifiles.com/heterodon-hognose-snake-care/hognose-snake-handling-body-language/
[28]http://www.radiantreptilescanada.com/western-hognose-eating-issues
[29]https://reptifiles.com/heterodon-hognose-snake-care/what-do-hognose-snakes-eat/
[30]https://www.reptilecentre.com/info-western-hognose-snake-care-sheet