I hope I'm in the right place- western hognose

[TigressSnow]

Hi all, this will be my first snake ever (adding to now 24 reptiles and an amphibian) and I'm hoping for a bit of info. The baby I will be getting is a male western hognose that hatched the first week of May this year, the breeder will be making sure he eats f/t pinkies before I get him. What I'm wondering is..
-how exactly do I thaw the mice?
-how do I feed him?
-burrowing substrate for him or newsprint?
lastly.. Will he be a good pet? Thank you!

 

[Emimee]

Hey there! I haven't personally kept a hognose yet (although they are certainly on my wishlist when I'm able to start expanding my collection) but I do have a ball python and a corn snake which are both fed f/t mice. Hopefully I can be of some service!

The basic rule of thumb for thawing is to take whatever you're going to be feeding out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator the night before you're going to be feeding. For smaller prey items like mice and especially the mouse pinkies you'll be using, it's probably safe to do this the morning of if you're feeding in the evening.

Rodents in water-proof packages can also be thawed more quickly by placing them in cold water. When doing this, water should be changed every 30 minutes until the item is well-thawed. For a pinky you probably won't need more than 30 minutes. This is method does leave a little more room for error, and requires slightly more effort than the refrigerator method (you have to fill a container with water and all that as opposed to just... moving the mouse) so it's usually not the go-to, but it does work just fine if you're mindful of basic food safety precautions! Make sure that whatever container you use to water-thaw is dedicated solely to that purpose; do not use it for human food again.

When feeding time rolls around, you need to actually warm up the thawed prey before offering it. This is best achieved by placing it in warm but not hot water for 10-20 minutes before feeding. The same principles as cold-water thawing apply here; use a dedicated container and make sure the packaging is water-tight. Make sure the water isn't actually hot to the touch!

Above all, never, EVER try to microwave a mouse. This will mostly likely result in uneven heating, dangerous hot spots within the mouse, even partial cooking... There is no reason to do it, and it can go disastrously wrong.

When you've got your food item thawed, warmed, and ready to go, feeding should be done with a pair of tongs made for this purpose. You can find these at pet stores and expos, or online; the ones I have look like giant tweezers. There is some debate, in my experience, about whether feeding should be done in the snake's enclosure or in a separate, empty enclosure specifically for feeding. I'll let you read up and make that decision for yourself. I personally feed in the enclosure, because that is what works best for my snakes; I've tried using a separate feeding space, and it simply did not work for my reptiles. I have not experienced any heightened aggression or territorial behavior from them; this may vary from species to species, depending on their natural feeding and territorial habits. Some people say moving a snake to an unfamiliar box right before feeding and moving it back home afterward induces unnecessary extra stress for the animal that could dangerously impact digestion and health. This holds true for my reptiles, but like I said, you should read up and make that decision for yourself!

I can't really answer from experience about the substrate, but this caresheet for the western hognose from reptiles magazine recommends paper towel for hatchlings (presumably due to how easy it is to change, and the added ability to monitor droppings better for any health problem indicators) and a burrowing substrate like aspen shavings for adults. Western Hognose Snake Care Sheet

And finally, as for your last question... Whether or not he will be a good pet really depends an awful lot on you and what you value in a pet. He'll certainly be very interesting to look at and watch. I don't know much about how hognoses handle, but I get the impression they can be quite docile when properly socialized. Snakes aren't really capable of facial expression, and that makes a lot of people think they lack personality. However, if you pay attention to their behavior, I believe they really express a lot more personality than you might expect! If you've never had a snake before, it's quite a different experience, but in my personal opinion, one well worth the effort!

 

[TigressSnow]

Oh my. Thank you so much! I may miss a spot to respond to so bear with me-
when storing the mice, should I take extra precautions to not touch human food with it's container or is that overkill? (I have a 9 month old daughter so overkill is my thing lol!)
i have always loved animals and (weirdly enough) can sense when they are comfortable. Comfortable is happy in my opinion even when I handle my 2 Leo's that safe a tank and rarely get handled (the both poop in the same spot- a removable cool side hide!) but when I do they even get comfortable. As long as no one walks by, no sudden movements and no closed hand grasp they will explore! My 5 month old beardies nuzzle when they get comfy on a warm spot or in their favourite sleeping position= happy babies I know snakes (among all reptiles) are different then furry mammals. I fell in love with their personalities in January and now have 24 reptiles and am amphibian! My animals bring me so much joy. They are such kind souls. I'm glad they will be with me for a long time.
with the substrate, I worry it won't feel safe without burrowing capability and it's not really discussed. I know corns burrow (right?) do you know of any stress caused to a burrowing neonate who isn't able to burrow?
thanks again, I really appreciate it!

 

[Emimee]

Avoiding the mixing of human food containers and reptile food containers is probably not an absolute necessity, but it definitely can't hurt so go right on ahead! I imagine this is part of why so many people opt to get a mini-fridge or freezer for keeping their snake food in!

I don't know that I've heard much about neonates becoming stressed due to an inability to burrow. I would just make sure that your baby has plenty of room to hide and feel secure! My corn snake is DEFINITELY a burrower, and likes to spend a lot of her time nosing tunnels in her substrate and peeking her little snout out to look around like a periscope. I did have her on paper towel for a bit when I was trying to work out some humidity and ventilation kinks in her vivarium and didn't want to use aspen until I was sure the ventilation was adequate and I wouldn't end up with moldy wood shavings every time she sloshed some water out of her dish, and she didn't seem to mind that. In fact, she seemed pretty content to just nose her way under the paper towel substrate and, "burrow," in that manner as well! So I think your little one will probably be alright until you're comfortable providing shavings.

It's so nice to know your babies are happy and healthy, isn't it? I think I know what you mean, about being able to tell when they're comfortable. It takes a very special and unique kind of personality to really love and cherish reptiles and some of the other small, less conventional pets in that way! I'm quite jealous that you have the space and resources for a 24 reptile and amphibian collection!

Don't forget that you can always ask the breeder you're purchasing from as many questions as you need/want to, as well! I don't know if you go to any expos, but those are probably one of my favorite sources of information. You get the chance to talk to a couple of different breeders with well-established colonies, and you can see the evidence of their success in keeping healthy animals right there on the table in front of you! Of course, the temptation to bring home a new critter is often entirely too strong in these situations... I don't think I've actually left an expo empty-handed yet!

 

[TigressSnow]

thank you for sharing your burrower experience! i will see how the baby acts and judge- having aspen on hand if he seems stressed!
tonight that collection just because 25 as another baby leo hatched! i have 4 females laying having and making the space is 2 different things though! a 700 sq ft apartment with a 9 month old- we make very good use of our bedroom space and have our pet only reptiles on display in the living room!
it is nice to know! i ask millions of questions to be sure that im doing everything right (as you have probably seen in the leo forums if you look lol!) this is my first breeding year (also.. my first year owning reptiles! i learned almost too much with one of my first leo boys, he died of impaction on sand- the only animals on sand in my home are animals that cannot go without it! my occelated skinks ) it really does, im glad my fiance enjoys them as much as i do! ive always been a lover of the uncommon, i have 6 rats too im trying to remember where i left off answering as i kind of trailed off!
expo- yes that is where i am getting the baby! we went to the CPE in march and got 8 pickups (3 cresties 2:1, 2 geckos 2:0, and 3 bearded dragons, 2:1) and plan on picking up next years breeding females to give this years a rest at the june downsvview expo here in ontario i will be asking loads of questions, emailing back and forth at the moment is hard to get acrossed everything you need to say! i will be spending a decent amount of time there so im able to ask lots of questions to feel secure about bringing him home! i want him to be a happy snoot!
this will be my first all reptile expo (we hadnt planned on going to one until the canadian reptile breeders expo in september but.. the temptation got me into going before lol!) so i will spend lots of time asking many owners and breeders! i love this hobby!

 

[Emimee]

Ugh, I just love meeting others who are so enthusiastic about the hobby! I can't imagine trying to organize all that and maintain it in that amount of space, especially with an actual human baby, lol... I'm so impressed! I've got a beardie, two snakes, a gecko, a fish, and a bird all in my room though, and I guess I'm doing alright with that lol! I really love how resourceful animal people are, you know? You give a multi-pet owner a problem and good gosh they will have a creative solution in no-time flat. Especially people who go to expos, talk to other owners, hobbyists, breeders, etc... I worked in a pet shop with a little bit of everything and did some dog grooming training, and that gave me all kinds of ideas that I would never have come up with on my own!

Anyway, it's so awesome that you're getting to do breeding, and congratulations on your first hatchling!! I hope you're planning on posting a looooot of pictures.

 

[TigressSnow]

Oh for sure! We have 6 animals in our closet, a gecko rack in the room and a tower of beardies that has a hatchling each on the side of their 8sq ft enclosures. We have around a foot to move around the bed! But were happy basically her first nap is an hour after she wakes up so that's when I make the beardies salad and give them their worms then every other night we clean every gecko after she's asleep I couldn't work in a pet shop- they'd all become mine lol!
Thank you, and I have I just don't wanna annoy everyone lol!