Hognose care questions

[subtle vigil]

Hi, im planning on getting a hoggie so i want to gather as much info as possible, so i have a couple questions and i might add more as i think of em:

1. Is there a significant diffrence in care between a male and female(exept size)
2. Is there a diffrence if its an albino or not(kinda want the pretty orange one so im asking)
3. Whats everything i need(i have a leo so do i also need an uvb, what kind of substrate, how deep, how big an enclosure)
4. Since i heard juveniles need to be in smaller tanks first, would a tub work untill it grows into the permanent enclosure
5. Feeding? What, how often, and do i need to dust with supplements

I will add more questions but these are off the top of my head

[white dagger]

i believeeee @undone igloo is our hog person

[subtle vigil]

Yeees i love em

[undone igloo]

Will answer in a sec

1. Males do tend to fast seasonally as adults during breeding season- I usually recommend females for a first time hognose owner because they do typically feed year round and are a bit more comfortable to handle since they're bigger (my personal opinion but squiggly little males feel very breakable sometimes..)

2. Similar to albino Leo care- you want to provide them with more opportunities to bask cryptically- more shade; more sight-breakers, lots of ways to avoid the overhead lighting / heating if they want to

Also albinos aren't the only albino hognose! toffee bellies are tyrosinase positive albinos. Anything hypo will also add a layer of light-sensitivity to a lesser degree

There are pink pastel albinos as well

3. Depends. You can opt to provide a male with the same size enclosure but lighting / heating has more in depth determinations depending on cage height, etc.
   substrate is also p subjective. I use aspen for QT and a dirt mix for adult / permanent enclosures. You want the substrate to be at least 2-3 times deeper than the hognose is in height. 40g breeders are ok sizes for both sexes. 20g long can work for a smaller male but it won't give you as much opportunity for enrichment (I would consider it the bare minimum for a male). Males often freak out in bigger cages (even if properly "cluttered") so it's pretty individual to the hognoses how big you should be comfortable going cage size wise. I don't currently keep my hognoses with UVB but it can be beneficial to provide.

4. You absolutely need to employ grow out enclosures for hognoses. Tubs work perfectly for this so you can increase the size gradually without a huge financial investment

5. This is just what I do in terms of frequency. They have very fast metabolisms and it's important to feed them often, especially hatchlings and juveniles
   on pinkies -> every 4 days
   on fuzzies -> every 5-6 days
   on hoppers and above -> weekly to every 10 days

I feed my hognose a variety of feeder types (mice, rats, reptilinks, quail) however you really want to ensure they are solid on unscented f/t mice before trying to introduce variety to their diets

I only supplement on occasions for gravid females.

Feel free if you have any other questions or would like me to elaborate on anything!

[subtle vigil]

okay so the breeder sent me a list of morphs they have, ill send it here cuz i tried googling the names and got kinda same results

the left number is the number of males, the right one the number of females

so theres like 5 females total lol

if you could tell me what these morphs mean i would appreciate it @undone igloo

also saying the substrate needs to be 3x their height, you meant the thickness right? like not the lenght of the snake lol

also what are the basking temps

[subtle vigil]

if you got pictures as references that would be pog

[subtle vigil]

@undone igloo hows it goin

[undone igloo]

does the breeder not have pictures for you? 🤔

normals and purple line are both extremely variable

[subtle vigil]

They eventually sent them, hold on imma forward ere, would i need to censor one cuz in one of em the baby is eating

These are the non eating females

This is the eating one

Asked friends and family it was a unanimous vote on this one lol

[undone igloo]

I mean the height of the snake, not the length SVL. Like belly to back going up/ down

[undone igloo]

I do around 90 for surface / basking temp, low-mid 80s ambient on the warm side. Room temp cool side. My room temp fluctuates throughout the day so it's more of a range of temps than something I keep super steady. They're pretty adaptable tho, they have a very large range of habitats in the wild.

[subtle vigil]

alraight thanks, which one do u think is the prettiest in the images? @undone igloo just asking ur preference

[white dagger]

im not sunfish but i also like one your family voted for lol

[viral forum]

I will say I’m glad to see a baby hog horking down a meal. The one you picked has a pretty headstamp!

[subtle vigil]

ill probably go today to see them all, wil send pics here

[undone igloo]

I think the one you picked has the nicest color saturation :> really tho it's all subjective esp since they're all normals- as long as they're feeding and healthy just go with your gut!

[subtle vigil]

sure thing

[scarlet linden]

oooh a new hognose keeper in the server

[subtle vigil]

not yet! i will be looking at the babies after like 20th july

i wanted to check em out these days to reserve one i like but i didnt manage to go to the breeder

[scarlet linden]

that will go craazy fast trust me

[subtle vigil]

so ill just hope they dont sell them

in the meantime ill be going to France lol

[scarlet linden]

if anything there is always alot of hoggies avaliable

obviously not ideal tho lol

[subtle vigil]

ehh not here, they arent bred here the breeder just brought a couple from out of country

[white dagger]

oh you're not in the us?

[subtle vigil]

nope, far from it

[subtle vigil]

@undone igloo quick question, how do you freeze pinkies

the breeder would sell me live ones, how do i freeze em >.>

[viral forum]

NTA I know this isnt who you tagged but you generally buy them already frozen if that’s what you’re going to feed. A frozen rodent has been humanely euthanized by the seller. It’s not something you’d want to do at home.

[subtle vigil]

dang, the breeder doesnt freeze them, they always have live ones, and i cant keep them too lol i have the leo feeders already, i need me a tutorial how to humanely euthanize ig

or i could see with the breeder to deliver them weekly

second seems much harder to manage so i wanna see to euthanization firs

[viral forum]

Are you unable to find a different breeder? If the snake you’re getting is live only then I understand. Hopefully the TA’s have more details for you

[subtle vigil]

well the funny thing is here we have like 2 breeders, this is the only one with hoggies

and i think none of them have frozen feeders

because they just use live ones since they are breeding the feeders too

[viral forum]

Ah yeah, gonna need some more experienced help. I know I can’t do live so I wouldn’t buy a snake that eats it but I understand having limited availability

[subtle vigil]

the breeder himself told me i could get a couple pinkies and freeze them but he has no experience with frozen ones

i read people here mentioning about feeding frozen ones how to unthaw and such

but saw nobody saying how to euthanize live ones >.>

[viral forum]

That’s because we buy the rodents already frozen/nm
The breeders humanly euthanize them before freezing and shipping. I did a little google and it seems most breeders use a ||CO2 chamber to suffocate the rodents in as gentle a manner as possible. ||

[subtle vigil]

ah heck

[viral forum]

Yeah… not something one can do at home easily. You may want to see if you can ship rodents in from out of the country. Not sure where you are so unsure how easy that would be. The TA’s may have more ideas.

[subtle vigil]

that isnt an option, we are like a 3rd world country outside of EU so the import and wait times would be too much

[viral forum]

There are lots of videos on how to transition a snake from live to frozen/thawed. Im sure there is a favorite

[subtle vigil]

so i gotta either travel weekly to a breeder or start euthanizing myself >.>

[viral forum]

Welp…. Not sure how else to help. You might have to breed feeders.

[subtle vigil]

ill have to figure it out

[viral forum]

At least snakes don’t eat as often as they age

[subtle vigil]

i dont think i have the facilities to breed pinkies tbh

[subtle vigil]

true, the one im getting is like 3 months old tho lol

[viral forum]

Smol baby.

Maybe look into breeding anyway? Not sure on the logistics there. Good luck!! I gotta head to bed

[subtle vigil]

sleep well, thanks for your input

[white dagger]

can you not just buy f/t mice?

[subtle vigil]

buy frozen? no there are no frozen mice for purchase

[white dagger]

where are you located again

[subtle vigil]

Serbia

[white dagger]

https://www.euro-mice.com/

would this work?

[subtle vigil]

nothing out of country would

the shipping would be too long because import and also import tax is expensive af

[white dagger]

any pet shops near u?

[subtle vigil]

the pet shops here arent that advanced so reptile keeping is still kinda weird

[white dagger]

is ns exotics far

[subtle vigil]

they are the ones im buying the snake from

and they dont do frozen lol

ill figure something out

if anything ill just go weekly to get 1 pinky

maybe another breeder thats more near me has em

[white dagger]

where would it be coming from?

[subtle vigil]

nsexotics

they are in my city but like out of town

[white dagger]

what

[subtle vigil]

so i cant quite take the bus

ill get someone to drive me

[white dagger]

wait so you would get a pinky but it wouldn't be frozen?

[subtle vigil]

yeah

[white dagger]

there is a breeder

in brno

would that work?

u could get them shipped probably

oh yea it says they can deliver anywhere in europe

[subtle vigil]

where?

[white dagger]

wdym?

[subtle vigil]

brno?

[white dagger]

yea

https://www.micefarm.com/

[subtle vigil]

i said anything thats outside of serbia is a no go

i would pay shipping more than the mice

[white dagger]

ah

[undone igloo]

Popping in real quick to say baby hognoses need to eat twice a week as well- it's never fun to not have a consistent feeder source. If you can't find anything you may need to reconsider if a hognose is the right choice for you

[subtle vigil]

ill figure something out, i just wanna try and find whats optimal and easiest for me

[subtle vigil]

also yeah ill feed often enough, do you have a tip for freezing them perchance?

[undone igloo]

I buy frozen in bulk, but I would imagine with pre-killed you just treat them like any other meat and put them in the freezer and thaw when needed.

[subtle vigil]

fair

thanks

[subtle vigil]

oh another question @undone igloo thorought growing, how often do i feed, ranging from 3 months old and up

[dry escarp]

i dont want to be rude, but hognoses arent something you can just "figure out" once you have them. they are very finicky with feeding, and will often go off food if you have to change how you get their feeders once you have them. i think thats what sunfish was saying with having a consistent source--having to change or go from prekilled to frozen to live will absolutely mess with your hognoses feeding habits and throw them into a strike.

[subtle vigil]

i see, so first figure out what kind of feeding i will do, and see where i will get food and keep to it?

[subtle vigil]

i also have more questions about feeding, if frozen, whats the process of un freezing them before feeding, and whats the nessecary size based on the snake, how often and such

[subtle vigil]

Update on food situation, a breeder near my work also has pinkies so i can get live ones on the day of feeding

[subtle vigil]

update 2: there was a miscommunication, they have them frozen